Authors: B Boon
Publish Date: 2010/09/11
Volume: , Issue: , Pages: 1-4
Abstract
Although well studied by a medical scholar like Kenneth D Keele1 Leonardo da Vinci’s elaborate study of the heart is not generally known This article focuses on two of Leonardo’s achievements concerning atherosclerosis and the sinuses of Valsalva2 The first is his postmortem observation on the degeneration of the vascular system in an old man an early case history The second is his discovery of the haemodynamical function of the sinuses of Valsalva in the closure mechanism of the aortic valve This discovery remained hidden for many centuries to be confirmed by scientific research not earlier than 1969 His observations will be discussed by showing the evidence the notes and drawings in Leonardo’s notebooks which he used to keep up as a diary of ideas
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