Exercitatio Anatomica De Motu Cordis Et Sanguinis in Animalibus

The Way to A Man's Heart Is Through His Liver

“…That portal hypertension is a circulatory disorder and, moreover, one that has profound and reciprocal effects on the heart and systemic circulation, seems self-evident now but was not always so. In a similar vein, when Harvey argued the doctrine of the circulation of the blood in his Lumleian lectures and published it in 1628, 6 the idea that all blood is a continuum and not segregated by humors into anatomically separate compartments, was met with disbelief by his contemporaries because his philosophy overturned Galen's scheme of medicine (interpreted from Hippocrates and Aristotle) that had seemingly served them well for hundreds of years. 7 As we will see, both the cause and pathophysiology of portal hypertension were contentious for nigh on a hundred years, and even now there is reluctance in some quarters to accept the reigning view.…”

Cardiomyopathies

“…1 However, the link between the clinical manifestations of heart failure (HF) and structural changes in the heart was not made for 4 decades, when Richard Lower wrote that when "the parenchyma of the heart...suffers from inflammation, abscess or a wound" it may be unable to provide "a constant circulation of the blood." 2 Lower also recognized that the heart was enlarged in patients with HF.…”

Bernoulli in the Operating Room: From the Perspective of a Cardiac Surgeon

“…1 In the 17th century, in his book "De Motu Cordis" Harvey was the first to describe the human blood circulation and the heart as a pump forcing the blood to flow like a fluid within the body. 5 Daniel wanted to follow an academic career after his dissertation, like his father, and applied for two chairs at the University Basel. Those were then decided by drawing lots, but Daniel had no luck.…”