Juan Valverde de Amusco (1525-1588): an eminent anatomist of the renaissance or a plagiarist of Vesalius? His work and its impact in renaissance anatomy.

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this study is to review and summarize the life and work of Juan Valverde de Amusco (1525-1588), his impact on the anatomy of the sixteenth century and focus on his controversy with Andreas Vesalius.

METHODS

A thorough search of the literature was undertaken in PubMed and Google Scholar as well as in history books through the internet and in History and Medical University libraries.

RESULTS

Valverde took almost directly from Andreas Vesalius 38 pictures. Occasionally, however, Valverde corrected Vesalius' images, as in his depictions of the muscles of the eyes, nose and larynx.

CONCLUSION

Valverde copied the work of Vesalius in many instances. Nevertheless, he had his fair share of contribution in the history of Anatomy; he managed to popularize and spread the new anatomy of the Rennaissance through his work which was far more cheaper than that of Vesalius; furthermore, his anatomic discoveries like the first depiction of the intracranial course of the carotid arteries (several decades before Willis's description), the extrinsic ocular muscles and the middle ear bones contribute to the spirit of the Scientific Revolution.