Writing Assignment 1

During the 17th and 18th centuries a better understanding of human anatomy and physiology led to improvements in medical treatment. In 1628 William Harvey published De Motu Cordis (William Harvey, De Motu Cordis, 1628, http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/H/Harvey_William.html). The book contained a detailed analysis of the heart as well as Harvey’s thesis that blood was pumped around the body in a double circulation where after being returned to the heart it was then recirculated in a closed system to the lungs and back to the heart where it is returned to the main circulation. Harvey’s groundbreaking work on the circulation of blood led to the doing away with bleeding as a form of treatment for illness. In 1664 Thomas Willis published Cerebri Anatome (Thomas Willis, Cerebri Anatome, 1664, http://www.indiana.edu/~liblilly/anatomia/head/willis.html). The book summarized the anatomy of the brain and nervous system. Willis’s work on the brain led to a better understanding of clinical disorders and was the first step in the improvement of the treatment of mental health patients. In 1739 Samuel Sharp published A Treatise on the Operations of Surgery (Samuel Sharp, A Treatise on the Operations of Surgery, 1739, https://archive.org/details/treatiseonoperat01shar). The book contained Sharps work on improving surgical techniques and tools as well as his work on improving the treatment of wounds, abscesses, and ulcers. Sharps work would not have been possible had it not been for the advancements made in human anatomy and physiology by physicians such as Harvey and Willis. The advancements made during the 17th and 18th centuries in human anatomy and physiology led to a better understanding of how to treat certain illnesses and wounds.