Research Starter for Home School Students

 

Development of Understanding of Blood Circulation

Entities:

• Ancient Egyptians (3500 BC): Believed in a network of channels transporting air, blood, urine, and the soul.
• Hippocrates (460-377 BC): Established the heart as the center of the circulatory system, but incorrectly believed blood flowed one way through arteries and another through veins.
• Galen (129-216 AD): Developed the dominant theory for over 1,000 years, proposing blood ebbed and flowed in the same vessels and was consumed by the body.
• Islamic Scholars (8th-13th centuries): Preserved and expanded on Greek knowledge, made observations about pulmonary circulation.
• Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519): Dissected human bodies and made detailed anatomical drawings, hinted at a continuous circulation but lacked the technology to prove it.
• Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564): Published "De Fabrica Humani Corporis" with detailed illustrations of the circulatory system, challenged Galen's theory but didn't propose a complete alternative.
• Hieronymus Fabricius (1537-1619): Discovered valves in veins, suggesting one-way blood flow.
• William Harvey (1578-1657): Published "De Motu Cordis" in 1628, revolutionized understanding by proposing a continuous, one-way circulatory system with the heart as the pump.

Relationships:

• **Ancient Egyptians influenced Hippocrates with their concept of the heart being central.
• Hippocrates' theory influenced Galen's dominant theory.
• Islamic Scholars preserved and expanded on Greek knowledge.
• Leonardo da Vinci's observations influenced later anatomists.
• Andreas Vesalius challenged Galen's theory but didn't provide a complete alternative.
• Hieronymus Fabricius's discovery of valves in veins supported William Harvey's theory.
• William Harvey's work revolutionized our understanding of blood circulation.