The Context of Harvey's Discovery

Medicine Through Time – William Harvey and Circulation, 1570-1660

In this course, Professor Andrew Gregory (UCL) explores the life of William Harvey and his discovery of the circulation of the blood. We will look at why Harvey's discovery is so important and why it was such a difficult discovery to make given the medical perceptions of the time.

The Context of Harvey's Discovery

In this module, we look at the context of Harvey's discovery of the circulation of the blood. We start by looking at the impact of Vesalius and Fabricius, and how they differed in their thinking from Galen. Crucial to Harvey's discovery was Fabricius's discovery of valves within the veins. This inspired Harvey to look at blood circulation more deeply.