Vesalius, Andreas

Andreas Vesalius, (Latin), Flemish Andries van Wesel, (born December 1514, Brussels [now in Belgium]—died June 1564, island of Zacynthus, Republic of Venice [now in Greece]), Renaissance physician who revolutionized the study of biology and the practice of medicine by his careful description of the anatomy of the human body. Basing his observations on dissections he made himself, he wrote and illustrated the first comprehensive textbook of anatomy.