native town, was a most
promising place, having nearly 200,000 inhabitants and business
relations with all the world at the moment, and went down into Italy
where he knew that he could pursue his anatomical studies to his
heart's content. The tradition of the work that Zerbi and Achillini
had done, and especially what Benivieni and Berengar had accomplished
within a few decades before this time, was commonly known in all the
medical schools of Europe, and many an ardent young anatomist in the
West yearned for the opportunities and the incentive that he could
obtain down there. Church influence was predominant; the ecclesiastics
were the actual rulers of the universities, but medical science, and
above all anatomy, was being studied very ardently. Vesalius thus
prompted, {106} came and found what he looked for. At the end of ten
short years of work down there, he had completed his text-book of
anatomy which was to earn for him deservedly the title of Father of
Anatomy.

At first Vesalius seems to have spent some time in Venice, where he
attracted considerable attention by his thorough, practical anatomical
knowledge and independent mode of thinking. After only a short period
in Venice, however, he proceeded to Padua, where he spent some months
in preparation for his doctor's examination. It is known that, having
completed his examination in the early part of December, 1537, he was
allowed within a few days to begin the teaching of anatomy, and,
indeed, was given the title of professor by the university
authorities.

The next six years were spent in teaching at Padua, Bologna and Pisa,
and in fruitful investigation. Every opportunity to make dissections
was gladly seized, and Vesalius's influence enabled him to obtain a
large amount of excellent anatomical material. He began at once the
preparations for the publication of an important work on the anatomy
of the human body. This was published in 1543 at Basel, at a time when
its author was not yet thirty years of age. It is one of the classics
of anatomical literature. Even at the present day it is often
consulted by those who wish to see the illustrative details of
Vesalius's wonderful dissections as given in the magnificent plates
that the work contains. It has become one of the most precious of
medical books, and is eagerly sought for by collectors.

For ten years more Vesalius devoted himself to his favorite studies in
anatomy and physiology, for it must not be fo