15th century anatomy lesson, from Mondino's Anathomia corporis humani, (1493). While the professor reads from the text, his assistant points out the organs under discussion. Mondino de Luzzi (1270 - 1326) was an Italian physician, anatomist, and professor
15th century anatomy lesson, from Mondino's Anathomia corporis humani, (1493). While the professor reads from the text, his assistant points out the organs under discussion. Mondino de Luzzi (1270 - 1326) was an Italian physician, anatomist, and professor of surgery. He was the first to incorporate a systematic study of anatomy and dissection into a medical curriculum. He performed his first public dissection in Bologna in January 1315 in the presence of medical students and other spectators. The proceedings were formally sanctioned by the Vatican, and the subject was mostly likely a female executed criminal. It was common practice for the professor of anatomy to sit in a large, ornate chair elevated above the dissection proceedings, reading from an anatomical text and providing commentary, while a demonstrator, or surgeon, physically performed the dissection. Additionally, an ostensor was present to point out the specific parts of the body that were being examined. Mondino's teaching methods were unique because he often performed dissections in person and served the role of demonstrator himself, carefully studying the cadaver and incorporating this personal experience into his text and teaching. Mondino's major work, Anathomia corporis humani, written in 1316, is considered the first example of a modern dissection manual and the first true anatomical text. By the 14th century, the practice of anatomy had come to refer to the dissection of a cadaver according to prescribed rules; Anathomia was intended as a handbook to guide this process. Mondino's Anathomia remained the most widely used anatomical text for 250 years (through the 16th century) because it clearly and concisely provided the important technical indications involved in the dissection process, including the steps involved and the reasoning behind the organization of these procedures. He died in 1326 at the age of 55 or 56.
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