The Rise of Anatomy in the Italian Renaissance

Human bodies had not been dissected for research purposes since ancient Alexandria, well before Galen himself. An annual anatomical demonstration was established in Bologna and Padua by the middle of the 15th century. Dissection, and unfortunately also vivisection, was also performed on pigs, which were thought to be anatomically close to humans. The woodcut images found in Renaissance anatomical works are remarkable for their artistic ingenuity and imagination.