[Evolution of knowledge on blood and its movement. 1st Part. Integration of circulatory doctrine. Iatrophysics of blood].
Under the light of the evolution of human knowledge, we present a short historic outline of the integrating steps of the blood circulation doctrine and its components, a starting point for ulterior studies on the function of blood in the economy of an organism. The different steps of the process leading to the integration and diffusion of the blood circulation doctrine are described. These go from the first descriptions of the heart structures by authors of the ancient world to the careful anatomical observations of Renaissance scientists, such as Leonardo da Vinci. Towards the middle of the sixteenth century, the first well-known descriptions of pulmonary circulation were made independently by Miguel Servet and Realdo Colombo. Later, William Harvey, based on the experimental quantitative method according to Galileo's thought, described and studied systemic circulation. The vicissitudes encountered by the circulation doctrine are also disclosed. At the beginning, this concept was rejected by the traditional milieu--such as the Sorbonne of Paris--, but was accepted by the young and innovative researchers in both England and Continental Europe. In the second half of the seventeenth century and the first half of the eighteenth, the blood circulation doctrine was finally accepted and spread throughout Europe and the American continent. Furthermore, this doctrine inspired the medical practice of intravenous injections and blood transfusions. Its evolution, as generally occurs in the evolution of scientific thinking, allowed to reject some believes deeply rooted in the doctrine's constituent structure, i.e., the Renaissance spell of circularity.
de Micheli
Alfredo
A
Instituto Nacional de Cardiología Ignacio Chávez, México, DF. archivos@cardiologia.org.mx
Izaguirre-Avila
Raúl
R
D001775:Blood Circulation; D006405:Hematology / Q000266:history*; D006439:Hemodynamics; D049669:History, 16th Century; D049670:History, 17th Century; D049671:History, 18th Century; D049690:History, Ancient