Biography about william harvey

English physician (1578–1657)

For other people named William Harvey, see William Harvey (disambiguation).

"De Generatione" redirects here.

Biography about william harvey

For Aristotle's book of that name, see Generation of Animals.

William Harvey (1 April 1578 – 3 June 1657)^[1] was an Englishphysician who made influential contributions to anatomy and physiology.^[2] He was the first known physician to describe completely, and in detail, pulmonary and systemic circulation as well as the specific process of blood being pumped to the brain and the rest of the body by the heart (though earlier writers, such as Realdo Colombo, Michael Servetus, and Jacques Dubois, had provided precursors to some of his theories).^[3][4]

Family

William's father, Thomas Harvey, was a jurat of Folkestone where he served as mayor in 1600.

Records and personal descriptions delineate him as an overall calm, diligent, and intelligent man whose sons “... revered, consulted and i