Harvey Wiliam English physician, founder of physiology and embryology. Date of Birth: 01.04.1578 Country: Great Britain

Biography of William Harvey

William Harvey was an English physician and naturalist, known as the founder of physiology and embryology. Born on April 1, 1578, in Folkstone, Kent, England, Harvey grew up in a prosperous merchant family. Unlike his siblings, he had no interest in the silk trade and preferred conversing with ship captains about their voyages. Harvey eagerly exchanged trade for a seat at Canterbury College and later dedicated himself to the study of natural sciences at the University of Cambridge.

In his twenties, Harvey was well-educated in the truths of natural philosophy and medieval logic, but lacked practical skills. He felt drawn to the natural sciences and intuitively believed that they would provide an outlet for his sharp mind. Following the customs of scholars at that time, Harvey embarked on a five-year journey to foreign lands in the hopes of strengthening his interest in medicine. He traveled to France and then Germany.

In 1598, he enrolled at the University of Padua. It was here that Harvey became enchanted with the lectures of the renowned anatomist Fabricius ab Aquapendente. This scientist had discovered special valves in veins, although he did not fully understand their significance and considered them merely a detail of venous structure. Harvey began pondering the role of these valves and conducted experiments on himself. By tightly tying a ligature around his arm, he observed that the hand below the ligature soon swelled, veins became engorged, and the skin darkened. Harvey also conducted experiments on a dog, tying a ligature around both legs. Once again, the legs below the ligatures swelled and the veins became engorged. When he cut the swollen vein on one leg, thick dark blood poured out. When he made a similar incision above the ligature on the other leg, not a drop of blood flowed. It became clear that blood was circulating below the ligature but not above it. This observation led to the understanding that blood flows in one direction within veins and arteries. However, Harvey was cautious and repeated his experiments and observations numerous times before drawing conclusions.

In 1602, Harvey obtained his doctorate and settled in London. In 1607, he was appointed to the chair of the London College of Physicians, and in 1609, he became a physician at St. Bartholomew's Hospital. With degrees from two universities, Harvey quickly became a fashionable physician and married into a wealthy family. He practiced extensively among England's elite and his friendship with Francis Bacon helped him secure the position of "extraordinary physician" to King James I. In 1623, he was appointed as the royal physician, a position he held even after the accession of King Charles I in 1625. As the royal physician, Harvey had a successful career but his true passion lay in scientific research. He dissected various animals, often cats, dogs, and calves, as well as human corpses, examining veins and arteries, dissecting hearts, and studying ventricles and atria. With each passing year, Harvey's understanding of the circulatory system improved, and the structure of the heart ceased to be a mystery.

In 1616, Harvey was offered a professorship of anatomy and surgery at the College of Physicians, and the following year, he presented his views on circulation. During this lecture, Harvey first expressed the belief that blood circulates continuously through the body and that the heart is the central point of circulation, contradicting Galen's theory that the liver was the center of circulation. Fifteen years had passed since the day Harvey observed the swelling of his ligated arm, and the mystery of the blood's path in the body had been solved. Harvey outlined the scheme of circulation but chose not to publish his findings immediately. He continued with new experiments and observations, meticulously verifying his conclusions.

In 1628, when Harvey was fifty years old and far away from England in Frankfurt, his "Anatomical Investigation of the Movement of the Heart and Blood in Animals" was finally published. This slim 72-page book immortalized him. It presented the results of thirty years of experiments, observations, dissections, and contemplation. Its contents contradicted much of what anatomists and physicians had believed for centuries. Harvey asserted that the heart is a powerful muscular sac divided into chambers, acting as a pump that propels blood into the arteries. The heart's contractions, he argued, are the observable signs of its pumping action. Blood moves in two circulatory systems, constantly returning to the heart. In the systemic circulation, blood flows from the heart to the head, surface of the body, and all organs. In the pulmonary circulation, blood flows between the heart and lungs. Harvey was unaware that the pulmonary circulation had been previously discovered by Michael Servetus in 1553, as Servetus' book had been burned for heresy. From the left ventricle, blood leaves the heart to circulate in the systemic circulation. It flows through large and then progressively smaller arteries to reach all organs and the body's surface. The return path to the heart (into the right atrium) is through veins. In both the heart and the veins, blood flows in only one direction due to the presence of valves. Harvey did not know how blood passed from arteries into veins; that discovery would come with the identification of capillaries by Italian scientist Malpighi in 1661, four years after Harvey's death. However, Harvey confidently stated that the transition of blood from arteries to veins must occur in the smallest arterial branches where they merge with veins.

Harvey's theory faced opposition from many quarters upon its publication. The authority of Galen and other ancient doctors was still too great. Prominent scholars and numerous practicing physicians were among Harvey's opponents. They met his views with hostility, labeling him a "charlatan." One of the first to criticize Harvey was Jean Riolan, the personal physician of Marie de' Medici. He was followed by Guy Patin, Goffman, and Chardin - opponents outnumbered supporters, and their attacks on Harvey's work were relentless. "Better Galen's mistakes than Harvey's truths!" became their rallying cry. Patients refused his services, and malicious letters reached the king, but King Charles I did not believe the accusations. In fact, he allowed Harvey to catch deer in Windsor Park for his embryological experiments.

Harvey endured many hardships but eventually his work gained recognition. A new generation of English physiologists and physicians saw him as their patriarch. Poets, such as Dryden and Cowley, wrote verses in his honor. The London College of Physicians erected a statue of him in their meeting hall, and in 1654, he was elected as their president. However, he declined the honorary post, stating that the responsibility was too heavy for an old man and expressing his concern for the future of the college during his term.

Harvey was not fond of titles and never sought them. He continued his work, occasionally visiting his brother Eliab in a village near Richmond, where they would chat and drink coffee. Harvey had a great love for coffee and, in his will, he specifically mentioned a coffee pot for Eliab as a memento of their happy moments together.

On June 3, 1657, Harvey woke up unable to speak. He knew it was the end and bid farewell to his loved ones with simplicity and ease. He left a small gift for each of them and passed away quietly and peacefully.