At Padua.--In 1597, at the age of nineteen, he was graduated with the Arts degree, and the following year he turned his steps toward Italy in search of the best medical instruction that could be found at that time in all the world. He selected the great university of Padua as his place of sojourn, being attracted thither by the fame of some of its medical teachers. He was particularly fortunate in receiving his instruction in anatomy and physiology from Fabricius, one of the most learned and highly honored teachers in Italy. The fame of this master of medicine, who, from his birthplace, is usually given the full name of Fabricius _ab Aquapendente_, had spread to the intellectual centers of the world, where his work as anatomist and surgeon was especially recognized. A fast friendship sprang up between the young medical student and this ripe anatomist, the influence of which must have been very great in shaping the future work of Harvey. Fabricius was already sixty-one years of age, and when Harvey came to Padua was perfecting his knowledge upon the valves of the veins. The young student was taken fully into his confidence, and here was laid that first familiarity with the circulatory system, the knowledge of which Harvey was destined so much to advance and amplify. But it was the stimulus of his master's friendship, rather than what he taught about the circulation, that was of assistance to Harvey. For the views of Fabricius in reference to the circulation were those of Galen; and his conception of the use of the valves of the veins was entirely wrong. A portrait of this great teacher of Harvey is shown in Fig. 9. At Padua young Harvey attracted notice as a student of originality and force, and seems to have been a favorite with the student body as well as with his teachers. His position in the university may be inferred from the fact that he belonged to one of the aristocratic-student organizations, and, further, that he was designated a "councilor" for England. The practice of having student councilors was then in vogue in Padua; the students comprising the council met for deliberations, and very largely managed the university by their votes upon instructors and university measures. It is a favorable comment upon the professional education of his time that, after graduating at the University of Cambridge, he studied four or more years (Willis says five years) in scientific and medical lines to reach the degree of Doctor of Physic. On leaving Padua, in 1602, he returned to England and took the examinations for the degree of M.D. from Cambridge, inasmuch as the medical degree from an English university advanced his prospects of receiving a position at home. He opened practice, was married in 1604, and the same year began to give public lectures on anatomy. [Illustration: Fig. 9.--Fabricius, 1537-1619, Harvey's Teacher.]