Leiden: P. Leffen & F. Moyardum, 1662

Descartes’s De homine shows a different technique for anatomical illustration: in this engraving of the heart and lungs, there are two flaps that can be raised to reveal the left and right ventricles below. Particularly on the continent, Descartes’s adaptation of Harvey’s theory helped secure broader support for the idea that the blood circulated.

To see the image with the flaps raised, click on the ‘Related item’ shown below.

Keynes.R.1.1