LEONARDO DA VINCI (VINCI 1452-AMBOISE 1519)
The ventricles, papillary muscles and tricuspid valve (recto); The heart and coronary vessels (verso)
c.1511-13RCIN 919073
Leonardo’s study of the heart, his last known anatomical campaign, was perhaps the most brilliant of his many scientific investigations. Working with the hearts of oxen, he described the chambers of the heart, the action of the valves and the arrangement of the vessels. But he had no knowledge of circulation of the blood, and his notes struggle to reconcile his profound insights with ancient beliefs about the physiology of the heart.