"De Motu animalium" is sometimes referred to in the medical
literature. But who has read it? The book, originally published in
Latin, seemingly constitutes the very first treatise on
biomechanics. The author, Giovanni Alfonso Borelli (1608 - 1679),
was professor of mathematics and physics in Pisa where he worked
with Malpighi, who was professor of theoretical medicine and
focused Borelli's interest on the movements of living creatures.
This was the time of Galileo, Descartes, Newton and many others,
when sciences exploded, sometimes leading to conflicts with
religious authorities. "De Motu animalium," Borelli's life work,
has two parts. In the first part, he analyses the action of the
muscles, the movements of the limbs and motions of man and animals,
including skating, running, jumping, swimming and flying. The
second part deals with what is now called physiology, considered
from the point of view of a mechanist: heart beat, blood
circulation, breathing, separation of urine from the blood in the
kidneys, liver function, reproduction, fatigue, thirst, hunger,
fever, and so on. This work shows Borelli to be a genial precursor.
He expresses his opinion as a mathematician on problems which
afterwards further stimulated the curiosity and endeavours of many
generations of researchers. This book will be welcomed by anybody
who is interested in the working of living bodies and in the
history of human knowledge.
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