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A biographical sketch of Johannes Jessenius: 410th anniversary of his Prague dissection

Publication at First Faculty of Medicine, Central Library of Charles University, Third Faculty of Medicine |
2012

Abstract

This article focuses on Johannes Jessenius (Ján Jesenský) (1566-1621), with particular attention paid to his famous Prague dissection and its publication (2011 marking its 410th anniversary). Jessenius was a physician, surgeon, anatomist, scholar, philosopher, and university authority.

We focus on the life and main contribution of Jessenius based on his 1600 Prague dissection, the Anatomiae, Pragae (1601). Borovanský described Jessenius' book as "not as a textbook, but as a publication aiming at educated laymen with the purpose of advertising, filled with quotations of old classical authors." This work presents an important part of the Central European scientific, cultural, and political life of the late Renaissance period