William Harvey, a great physician, and scholar is known to be one of the legends and most influential people during the western civilization. He was the firstborn in his family of seven and was born in 1578 ( Wright & Wright, 2013 ) . After his degree award in Arts at Caius College, Cambridge, in 1597, William Harvey’s passion for medicine drove him to pursue further studies in Padua. He became an outstanding physician, an extraordinary lecturer, and an excellent researcher. His skill in medicine and research led him to study and achieve a remarkable breakthrough in understanding the cardiovascular system and embryology.
According to Wright & Wright (2013 ), William Harvey investigated and made lecture notes on the functioning of the heart as well as the blood vessels. His book, “De Motu Cordis,” which was later translated and published by scholars, contains many of his observations and findings with quantitative evidence. His work marked the beginning of a new dawn in the field of medicine and a step towards success during western civilization. His book, which had four chapters, contained an introduction to the cardiovascular system, the movement, and functioning of the heart, the pulmonary transit, system transit, and other supplementary arguments. He made a conclusion that the beating of the heart influenced the circulation of blood in a continuous manner throughout the blood vessels.
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Apart from the circulatory system, William Harvey made a significant step in understanding embryology. His published work “De Generatione Animalium” contains sections, namely “On Parturition,” “Of the Uterine Membranes and Humours,’ and “On Conception” ( Wright & Wright, 2013 ). He explained the concept of growth of an embryo and circulation, and made significant progress in the idea of fetal respiration; this knowledge is still being used in the present century ( Wright & Wright, 2013 ) .
Impacts of the printing press in western civilization
The printing press is known to be one of the breakthrough inventions that marked a revolution in bookmarking and made a significant contribution to western culture. The outstanding work of the invention of the printing press is attributed to Sir Gutterberg. However, the early contributions of the Chinese, who started printing using wooden blocks, cannot be ignored. A Chinese peasant later used this knowledge to build an improved tool that was movable. Sir Gutterberg used this knowledge to create the first printing press, which was successfully able to print a considerable volume of copies ( Spielvogel, 2010 ). This fascinating invention brought a massive economic, religious, educational, scientific, and social transformation in the whole continent.
Primarily, the printing press enabled rapid and accurate spreading of information for European nations and the world. With the increase in reading material production and ease of access to these reading materials, literacy levels began to rise. The printing press was a vital tool that allowed different scientists in the continent to collaborate with one another, and therefore the field of science bloomed and flourished. Since it was invented during the Black Death era, which had adverse effects not only on the population but also on the rise of Christianity, the printing press led to the introduction of secular texts; hence, the western culture started to become more secularized ( Spielvogel, 2010 ).
New professions began to emerge, more proofreaders and graphic designers were on-demand, and this contributed to economic development ( Spielvogel, 2010 ). Written texts ceased to be a luxurious commodity as people could now afford. Book production costs reduced, and more books were published, economic growth was undoubtedly on the rise.
References
Spielvogel, J. J. (2010). Western civilization: Volume A: to 1500 . Vancouver, B.C: Langara College.
Wright, T., & Wright, T. (2013). William Harvey: A life in circulation . Oxford: Oxford University Press.
