Harvey

Who was Harvey?

An english doctor born in 1578 who studied at the University of Padua and later worked at St Bartholomew’s hospital and then became physician to the king (James I)

What did Harvey do?

Contradicted Galen’s ideas on circulation by saying that blood was pumped around the body by the heart, and veins had valves who prevented the backflow of blood to ensure that it travelled in one direction - this contrasted Galen’s theory that blood was burned up by the body and made in the liver

What limited Harvey’s influence?

He was widely criticised, despite his groundbreaking discovery, and blood groups were only discovered in 1901, preventing blood transfusions from taking place until then, which made Harvey less successful in his work - any attempts made before then were usually unsuccessful and fuelled his opposition

What did Harvey work on?

He dissected frogs