ABSTRACT
In his landmark study On the Fabric of the Human Body (1543), Andreas Vesaliuslaunched a withering critique of Galen, the ancient physician whose anatomicalwritings had held sway for nearly fourteen centuries. Through dissecting human cadavers and comparing his findings with the texts, Vesalius had identified over 200 errors, which he attributed overwhelmingly to Galen’s reliance upon apes:
It is now clear to me from the reborn art of dissection, from diligent reading of Galen’s books and their restoration in several places . . . that he never dissected a human body; but deceived by his monkeys (simiis) . . . he frequently and improperly opposed the ancient physicians trained in human dissection.1
