Woodcut from William Harvey's book Exercitatio Anatomica de Motu Cordis et Sanguinis in Animalibus (On the Motions of the Heart and Blood). William Ha

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Woodcut from William Harvey's book Exercitatio Anatomica de Motu Cordis et Sanguinis in Animalibus (On the Motions of the Heart and Blood). William Harvey (1578-1657), an English physician, discovered the circulation of the blood around 1616, eventually publishing his theory in the above book in 1628. The one way system of valves in the veins alerted Harvey to their role in the general circulation of blood. The illustrations show the valves in the superficial veins of the forearm. On the left, for example, the finger has been passed along the vein from O to H (away from the heart). The stretch of vein is emptied & remains so because of the valve at O.

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Size: 3542px × 6039px
Photo credit: © DR JEREMY BURGESS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 17th, anatomica, anatomy, animalibus, black, black--white, blood, body, century, circulation, cordis, de, exercitatio, harvey, heart, historical, human, image, imagery, medical, monochrome, motions, motu, research, sanguinis, vessels, white, william