Editing History of anatomy (section)

=== 17th century ===
[[File:William Harvey (1578-1657) Venenbild.jpg|thumb|upright=.9|Harvey's anatomical researches from ''De Motu Cordis'' (1628)]]
At the beginning of the 17th century, the use of dissecting human cadavers influenced anatomy, leading to a spike in the study of anatomy. The advent of the printing press facilitated the exchange of ideas. Because the study of anatomy concerned observation and drawings, the popularity of the anatomist was equal to the quality of his drawing talents, and one need not be an expert in Latin to take part.<ref>{{cite web|title=Dream Anatomy: Exhibition Information|url=https://www.nlm.nih.gov/dreamanatomy/da_info.html|publisher=NLM|access-date=2018-03-21|archive-date=2017-09-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170907204745/https://www.nlm.nih.gov/dreamanatomy/da_info.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Many famous artists studied anatomy, attended dissections, and published drawings for money, from [[Michelangelo]] to [[Rembrandt]]. For the first time, prominent universities could teach something about anatomy through drawings, rather than relying on knowledge of Latin. Contrary to popular belief, the Church neither objected to nor obstructed anatomical research.<ref>{{cite news|last=Howse|first=Christopher|date=10 June 2009|title=The myth of the anatomy lesson|work=The Daily Telegraph|location=London|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/christopherhowse/5496340/False-myth-of-the-anatomy-lesson.html|access-date=4 May 2010|archive-date=12 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180212192917/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/christopherhowse/5496340/False-myth-of-the-anatomy-lesson.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Only certified anatomists were allowed to perform dissections, and sometimes then only yearly. These dissections were sponsored by the city councilors and often charged an admission fee, rather like a circus act for scholars. Many European cities, such as Amsterdam, London, Copenhagen, Padua, and Paris, all had Royal anatomists (or some such office) tied to local government. Indeed, [[Nicolaes Tulp]] was Mayor of Amsterdam for three terms. Though it was a risky business to perform dissections, and unpredictable depending on the availability of fresh bodies, ''attending'' dissections was legal.{{citation needed|date=March 2017}}

The supply of printed anatomy books from Italy and France led to an increased demand for human cadavers for dissections. Since few bodies were voluntarily donated for dissection, royal charters were established which allowed prominent universities to use the bodies of hanged criminals for dissections. However, there was still a shortage of bodies that could not accommodate for the high demand of bodies.