Vesalius may rightly be considered the founder of modern anatomy, for he was the first to furnish correct information, based on actual dissections of the human cadaver, respecting quite a large number of the more important anatomical relations; and by this very act he won the further credit of having dealt the first effective blow toward the dethronement of Galen, the man who, next to Hippocrates,--probably even more than Hippocrates,--had exercised, by his teachings in nearly every department of medical science, almost despotic sway over physicians for considerably more than one thousand years. At this distance of time, it is hard to realize what a startling effect was produced by the announcement of the discovery of so many errors in Galen’s scheme of anatomy. Albert von Haller, the great authority on medical literature, speaks of Vesalius’ book as an “immortal work”; and, although its title would lead one to suppose that it deals only with the construction of the human body, an examination of its contents reveals the fact that it contains in addition quite full information regarding physiology and pathological anatomy, as well as many details relating to comparative anatomy. Perhaps the most marvelous thing about this book is the fact that its author completed his work before he had reached his twenty-eighth year. It may also interest the reader to learn that, prior to 1914, the University of Louvain possessed a copy of Vesalius’ great work printed on vellum and illustrated with many drawings in colors; but I am unable to say whether this beautiful volume did or did not escape destruction at the hands of the ruthless men who invaded Belgium during the summer of that memorable year. [Illustration: FIG. 14. ANDREAS VESALIUS. (After the portrait by Van Calcar in the Royal College of Surgeons, London.) Copied from the reproduction published in the _Nederlandsch Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde_, Jan. 2, 1915.]