and swiftly” as possible and to use the woodblocks as “correctly and
elegantly” as he could. For the first time ever, the figures were inscribed
with letters that correlated with the text. The reader could follow Vesalius
in the text, encountering the letters that guided him to the specifics in the
illustrations. Additionally, in the margins, there were numbers and letters
that cross-referenced other drawings. Vesalius was breaking ground in
many ways, presenting a visually stunning, didactic tour de force that, on
occasion, challenged 1,500 years of authority. Through hundreds of pages
and illustrations, the human body and its functions are presented in
stunning, comprehensible figures; Vesalius on occasion opines about the
physiology, the function of the organs, at times, challenging Galen.
Noticeably absent, of course, is conjecture about the gods, evil spirits, and
the seat of the soul; however, it would take several hundred years for
advanced microscopy to reveal the secrets of the cells and their functions.
Vesalius stated: “I am aware that by reason of my age—I am at present
twenty-eight years old—my efforts will have little authority, and that,
because of my frequent indication of the falsity of Galen’s teachings, they
will find little shelter from the attacks of those who were not at my
anatomical demonstrations.”^34 To the contrary, his masterpiece was hailed
immediately, and his renown as an anatomist and surgeon became
unrivaled, perhaps for two hundred years.
I will admit it: I am an unrepentant book lover. The privilege of holding a
rare priceless book in my own hands is extraordinary indeed. After months
of communication to establish my credentials with archivist librarians,
and after completing the requisite forms granting me access to the special
archives room at the Wellcome Library in London, the day has finally
arrived for me to investigate a 1543 copy of De humani corporis fabrica. I
stow my backpack and pens (no pens are ever allowed in rare book rooms)
in a locker, and after scanning my scholar’s ID through the security
checkpoint, I make my way to the top floor of the building in one of the
greatest medical libraries in the world. I do have some trepidation—
despite all my preparations, I have concerns that I will have come all the
way to London, only to be turned back at the last moment. My last email
exchanges were with the archivist named Ross, and he approaches me
immediately after I pass through the last security doors into the inner