ident is mentioned. The
dissections were such ordinary occurrences as not to deserve special
mention except for some particular reason.)

"Much more is known about dissection at Padua in the fifteenth
century, when the city had become Venetian." [Footnote 11] (It is
significant to note that the previous occurrence was in pre-Venetian
days, for Professor White insists that it was the Venetian
authorities, in opposition to the Pope, who allowed dissection at
Padua. Here is the rebuttal of any such theory.) "Bertapaglia, in
his Surgery, has the record of the dissection of a criminal made
under the direction of Master Hugo De Senis, on {78} the 8th of
February, 1429. On the 4th of April, 1430, the dissection of a woman
was made. In 1444 Professor Montagnana speaks of fourteen
dissections at which he had been present." (This would seem to
indicate that dissections were quite common and that the occasional
records of them give no proper idea of their actual number.)

[Footnote 11: Note that this is a full century before Vesalius's time,
who, Professor White insists, reintroduced dissection.]

I would not wish to produce the impression, however, that Italy was
the only place in Europe in which dissections were freely done during
the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. There is no doubt that anatomy
and surgery and every branch of medicine was cultivated much more
assiduously and with much better opportunities provided for students
down in Italy, than anywhere else in the world. This of itself alone
shows the utter absurdity of the declarations that the Church was
opposed to medical progress in any way, since the nearer the center of
Christendom, the more ardor there was for investigation and the more
liberty to pursue original researches. Other countries also began to
wake up to the spirit of progress in medical education that was
abroad. In France there were two centers of interest in anatomy. One
of these was at Montpelier, the other at Paris. It is interesting to
note, however, that the men to whom anatomical progress is due at
these universities obtained their training, or at least had taken
advantage of the special opportunities provided for anatomical
investigation to be had, in the Italian cities. Guy de Chauliac I have
already mentioned. He is spoken of as the Father of Modern Surgery,
and there is no doubt that he did much to set surgery on a very
practical basis and to make anatomy a