Studies in anatomy by Leonardo Da Vinci

1. LEONARDO DA VINCI ANATOMY DRAWING
You shall be able to view Leonardo Da Vinci anatomy drawing on different forms of
human physiology, which includes topographical anatomy sketches such as his
Vitruvian man and surgical anatomy sketches involving dissection. We should note
that any surgery on the dead was a risky path to follow in the time of Leonardo.
Dissection was a foul process both in smell and nature with the presence of the Black
Death epidemic at the time making it even more risky. Leonardo however was never
fearful of treading down such risky routes in his search for what he considered to lead
to the ‘light of truth’. By trying to grasp the scope of his work in anatomy we can in
turn try to understand the workings of Leonardo's mind a little better. We will also be
able to shed more light on his fascinating Vitruvian man drawing which is recognised
as a depiction of perfection and of course, the Genius Leonardo Da Vinci!
~ Bones of the arm ~

2. UNTAINTED BY DOGMA
Leonardo understood that the female played a much larger role in the reproduction of
human life than the male, which was not the ideology of the time. Leonardo's
anatomical studies are an expression of his search for the truth and not an allegiance
to any dogmatic ideology of the time. He was as always, interested with where the
truth would take him and not vice versa.
To illustrate his boundless nature further, Leonardo would compare the anatomy of
people with that of animals to see with his own eyes the anatomical differences
between them, and not just take it as a given fact. Experiencing the truth through a
first hand method was everything to Leonardo. The picture below is an example of
this work and principle.
~ A leg of a dog compared with a mans ~

3. INNOVATION OF LEONARDO DA VINCI DRAWING HIS FINDINGS
Leonardo recognised his method of anatomy was revealing truths anatomists of the
time could not perceive. Before him, most if not all study conducted by anatomists
was in writing and not in diagrammatic form. This was inefficient by Leonardo's
standard that recognised a picture is far more efficient in depicting a finding than
writing about it. He also understood that when something is drawn, it is in a sense
recreated. Drawing (and painting) was the only medium at the time that could
replicate an item more closely than anything else. (Sculpting involved much too much
effort for the same results and could not be easily transported.) The following is a
quote on the benefits of drawing anatomy rather than a written description;
' . . knowledge that is impossible for ancient or modern writers to convey without an infinitely
tedious example and confused prolixity of writing and time.'
Vitruvian man is an example of this principle as it illustrates the Golden ratio that
Leonardo had found. It is worth considering for a moment, how much would have
been lost in the translation of the equation if Leonardo had just described it instead of
having drawn it!
~ More studies of the Golden ratio ~

4. PUBLISHING LEONARDO DA VINCI ANATOMY FINDINGS
A collaboration was created with an anatomist from the University of Pavia by the
name of Marcantonio della Torre and Leonardo. The agreement between the two
was that Leonardo would provide (at the least) the immaculate Leonardo Da Vinci
drawing style of dissections and his colleague would edit and publish the work.
Unfortunately, in the following year, Leonardo's colleague passed away from catching
the Black Death. This ended the prospect of the work being published but did not
diminish Leonardo's thirst for the intricate knowledge of the human body. He
continued his exploration of the human anatomy tirelessly.
~ Study of arms and shoulders ~

5. FIRST TO DISSECT THE FEMALE BODY
For men of the age, the female body held no particular fascination. For Leonardo, it
held many answers for his curiosity. There are many possibilities why Leonardo had
an interest in the female form when his peers did not. He understood that there was
much more complexity and upheaval within the female body than within the males’
body. Leonardo's most recognised work on the female anatomy is called 'The Great
Lady'.
~ The great lady ~

6. LEONARDO'S SURGERY STUDIES COULD HAVE SAVED MILLIONS OF LIVES!
Of all of Leonardo's known discoveries, his discovery of the cause of Heart disease
through a build up of cholesterol could have saved millions of lives. This would have
been so if his discoveries were ever taken seriously at the time and published by his
peers. Leonardo had worked out that a substance carried though the blood and
produced by what we eat imbeds itself in the arteries and blocks natural blood flow.
Heart disease due to cholesterol kills multiples of thousands every year. If cholesterol
had been recognised by the medical communities of the 15th century, the specific
foods that produce and diminish cholesterol would have been worked out and
millions of people would now have been saved
~ Heart ~

7. LEONARDO DA VINCI AND SCIENCE INCLUDING EMBRYOLOGY
The study of the formation and maturity of the human foetus is a specialised science
subject in today's' society but was unheard of in the time of Leonardo Da Vinci.
Leonardo was the first to study a human foetus and to record his findings. His
fearless nature and thirst for natures’ truths guided him into areas that men of his age
would not think to venture.
Leonardo is ‘informally’ the father of embryology as his findings were of the
embryology were lost before being rediscovered by others in the 20th century.
~ Study of a foetus in the womb ~

8. NOTEBOOKS REVIEWED BY ORDER OF THE POPE.
In 1514, Leonardo was brought in front of the Vatican officials under the most serious
allegations of witchcraft and necromancy when his assistant spies provided evidence
of these crimes. All of Leonardo's known notebook pages on anatomy were analysed
by the Vatican.
Leonardo’s anatomy studies ceased at this point as he was ordered to stop or face
the direst of consequences. It was obviously his Genius and perceived divine gift of
painting that avoided him being put to death. Leonardo was extremely proud of his
anatomical studies. He ended his unofficial career of anatomy by writing the
following;
'The 120 chapters composed by me will give judgement in which I have been
impeded neither by avarice nor by negligence but only by time. Farewell. '
Disturbingly however, he also wrote around the same time, 'Tell me, have I done
anything of worth? Tell me if anything was ever done.'
~ Intricate study of the shoulder ~

9. LEONARDO'S NOTEBOOKS ARE STILL BEING ANALYSED TODAY FOR NEW
INVENTIONS AND DISCOVERY!
Leonardo's anatomy drawings are so perfect in their depiction of the human
dissection on a detailed level to this day, that many of his drawings are still being
used in scientific illustration.
Any inventions in the myriad of subject fields he ventured into were so far reaching
into the future that his notebooks are still being fine-combed for new discoveries.
Scientists are hoping to locate possibilities that have not yet been realised even over
480 years after his death. Scholars who would have not taken him so seriously when
he was still alive are venerating Leonardo. The notebooks under inspection include
anatomy sketches, which are under the magnifying glass of professional clinical
surgeons and scientists.
~ Study of skull ~

10. VITRUVIAN MAN REPRESENTS PERFECT PROPORTIONS OF THE BODY
Before the great Leonardo, artists were interested purely in topographical anatomy
(the study of the external proportionality of the subject being painted). Leonardo
however changed this through his quest to discover everything that there was to
know about nature, which included the human body. By dissecting dead bodies in
much more detail than anyone before him including medical doctors, he began to
reveal upon himself the secrets of nature and also gain knowledge to increase the
realism of his drawings. (Leonardo's anatomy research was also motivated in finding
where specifically the human soul resided within the body).
The complete workings of the human body were of so much interest to Leonardo that
he believed that there was a deeper connection between the construct of the
Universe and the human being. The drawing is considered to be the apex of this
understanding and work.This drawing which resides inside one of Leonardo's
notebooks incorporates the idea of the golden ratio, the quest of artists since Roman
times to find the proportional equation of the body which relates to every human
body, irrespective of their size. (An architect called Vitruvius in his extensive
discourse ‘De Architectura’; Book III around 25BC began this quest.)
Overall, by knowing what was going on underneath human skin, Leonardo could
more correctly project the exterior anatomy of his art. In order to gain the anatomical
knowledge, Leonardo had to dissect dead bodies. This surgery of dead bodies would
eventually lead Leonardo in breaking many religious laws of the time and put his life
in risk by being put to death for Necromancy. Whatever the cost however, the very
distinct Da Vinci style of anatomy drawing was born! And so was Leonardo's
portrayal of the perfect proportions of the human body housed within the Vitruvian
Man.