Firstly, it is important to give a brief history and background of his works in this area of study. The drawings of Leonardo’s embryological studies were conducted between the years 1510–1512, and these groundbreaking illustrations of the fetus reveal his advanced understanding of human development and demonstrate his role in the progression of embryology during the Renaissance. In 1506, while in Milan, Leonardo’s acquaintance with anatomist Marcantonio della Torre led him to many first-hand human dissections with the guidance of the younger professor. Four years later the expertise he gained, with the help of della Torre, would prove most useful in his studies of embryology. In one of his most famous drawings, Leonardo depicts a human fetus lying inside a dissected uterus. It is important to mention, that Leonardo is considered to be the very first in history to correctly depict the human fetus in its proper position within the womb. He was also the first to expertly draw the uterine artery and the vascular system of the cervix and vagina.
After his surgical exposure of a fetus, Leonardo’s subsequent drawings portray an accurate understanding of the umbilical cord as consisting of vessels. Further drawings of the umbilical vessels illustrate his belief that menstrual blood nourished the fetus through the umbilical cord. Leonardo showed the umbilical cord connecting to the liver and his drawings of hepatic veins show the passing of blood to the heart. In his drawings, the feet of the fetus are crossed and the right foot is shown as blocking the urinary passage. Leonardo concluded that the position of the fetus’s feet did not allow for the movement of urine through the urethra and so he theorized that the umbilical cord was the structure responsible for exporting the fetus’s urine outside of the womb.
There is so much more to write on Leonardo's studies, findings and contributions, but I will stop here so as to to bore the reader or put you to sleep. I will continue to write how truly amazing it is that this man who re-invented the direction of art and perfected Realism (the purpose and goal for art up until the late Renaissance), also laid a visible new foundation for studying human development. What may have initially began as experiments used in further enhancing Leonardo's understanding of the human body, so as to master realistic art, turned out to enlighten humanity's mind in our own knowledge of how we came to be.
Leonardo’s methods of accurately portraying human anatomy through drawings and diligently mapping out characteristics of the body are considered to have been the foundation of modern anatomical illustration. His approach of classifying, quantifying, and repeating his experiments was a wholly modernistic approach to his scientific methods. Leonardo corrected a few misnomers of the time through his observations, while leaving more to be discovered, and his detailed drawings reflect unprecedented curiosity in depicting embryological anatomy.
What a wonderful example of serendipity. Leonardo brought more to the world than he had intended or even imagined possible.
- Nicholl, Charles. Leonardo da Vinci: Flights of the Mind. New York: Penguin Group, 2004.
- O’Malley, Charles Donald, and John Bertrand de Cusance Morant Saunders. Leonardo da Vinci on the Human Body. New York: Henry Shuman, 1952.
- Snow-Smith, Joanne. Leonardo and Printed Ancient Texts: History and Influence. University of Washington, Seattle, 2004. http://www.washacadsci.org/Journal/Journalarticles
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