Recto: notes on the valves of the heart and the flow of blood within it, with illustrative drawings; a drawing of a mould for the making of a glass model of the pulmonary or aortic valves.
Leonardo’s analysis of the heart was the most brilliant of his many scientific investigations. Working with the hearts of oxen, he studied the arrangement of the vessels and the action of the valves in a series of densely annotated sheets.
Here Leonardo records a remarkable experiment in which he utilized his technical knowledge as a sculptor to understand the flow of blood through the valves. He poured molten wax into the cavities around the aortic valve, and from the wax cast he made ‘a mould of gypsum for blowing thin glass inside’ – seen in cross-section at top right. Leonardo then pumped water mixed with grass seeds through his glass model, observing turbulent vortices in the widening (sinus) beyond the valve (drawn schematically at centre right), and correctly concluded that these vortices help to close the valve when blood flow ceases after each beat of the heart.
Text adapted from Leonardo da Vinci: A life in drawing, London, 2018
Provenance Bequeathed to Francesco Melzi; from whose heirs purchased by Pompeo Leoni, c.1582-90; Thomas Howard, 14th Earl of Arundel, by 1630; probably acquired by Charles II; Royal Collection by 1690
Atrainlan on July 2nd, 2019 at 13:54 UTC »
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zackintehbox on July 2nd, 2019 at 12:51 UTC »
His last words were "I have offended God and mankind because my work did not reach the quality it should have."
Tokyono on July 2nd, 2019 at 10:51 UTC »
Thank you Sketches of Leonardo Da Vinci exhibit! Absolutely fascinating.
It's amazing just how far ahead Leonardo was in his time. He dissected corpses, including one of a 100 year old man- producing the first known recollection of coronary artery disease. He also thought that during sex, women gave life to the baby by giving a piece of her soul to it ;P
He also struggled to reconcile many of his scientific discoveries with the conventions of the time, especially the chambers and functioning of the heart.