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| Harvey's theory being described. |
William Harvey is recognized for several medical breakthroughs one of which includes the discovery that blood is pumped through the body with the heart and its arteries, whereas previous scholars thought that the liver produced blood daily and the lungs circulated it. He noted the movement of the right and left ventricles and how they spurred the blood into the arteries.
Also, under Galen's theories, it was held that the liver produced the body's blood, but Harvey was able to measure the blood capacity of the heart and find how much blood it expelled at any given time. He estimated, then, that 540 pounds of blood were being circulated per day, far too many for the liver to be producing. Then, by isolating veins and recording the one-way nature of the heart's valves, he was able to discover that the veins circulated blood around the body and back to the heart in a circular motion. Galen had also believed that blood passed through the body through the pores, not through the veins, so Harvey's discovery's altered that theory, as well.
Sadly, despite Harvey's findings, medical practice changed very little during his era. However, many today claim that his discoveries of the cardiovascular system were the most significant medical advancements of the seventeenth century.
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| Harvey conversing with Charles I |
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