Harvey's Views on the Use of the Circulation of the Blood

The author analyzes William Harvey's account of blood circulation, reconstructing his arguments from Latin texts and lecture notes and situating them within earlier physiological thought. The study traces how circulation was linked to tissue nourishment, respiration, innate heat, and the primacy of heart and blood; it examines Harvey's explanations for heartbeat and venous return; and it contrasts his Aristotelian affinities with Galenic doctrine. Chapters explore the tension between medical observation and philosophical interpretation, consider cosmological analogies, and provide translations and critical annotation to clarify Harvey's conception of the uses of the circulation.