Michael Servetus
1511-1553
Spanish Physician and Theologian
Michael Servetus, or Miguel Serveto, was a person of many interests who is credited with the discovery of pulmonary circulation, the process of blood going to the lungs to pick up oxygen. Servetus's life was one of controversy—from the question of his place of birth, to the end of his life when he was burned at the stake for heresy.
The traditional site of his birth is Tudela, Navarre, in southern Spain, although some of his writings indicate he was born in Villaneuva, Spain, in 1511. Some of his statements lead others to think he was born in 1509. The son of a notary, he was sent to Toulouse, France, to study law but became interested in theology. His friend and mentor was a Franciscan monk Juan de Quintana, who took Servetus to the coronation of Emperor Charles V at Bologna. Disgusted with the extravagance and worldliness of the pope and church, he left Quintana and traveled to Lyons, Geneva, and Basel. These latter cities in Switzerland were the center of the Protestant reformation, with such leaders as John Oecolampadius, Martin Bucer, and John Calvin (1509-1564).
Through his biblical studies, Servetus concluded that the Trinity was not described in the Bible and angered both the Catholics and Protestants with his persistent arguments. But Servetushad a stubborn personality and was determined to voice and print his unpopular views.
Assuming the name Michel de Villeneuve and sometimes Villanovanus, he went to the University of Paris to study then moved to Lyons to work as an editor for the famous publishers, the Trechsel brothers. The editing duties led to his interest in medicine. There, while editing and reading hundreds of medical manuscripts, he met the medical humanist Symphorien Champier (1471-1539) who encouraged him go back to Paris to study medicine under several distinguished anatomists.
In 1537 he published a work supporting the use of syrups for curative purposes, the eating of "correct foods" including citrus, and maintained that sickness was the perversion of natural functions of the body organs, a basic contention of Galen (129-199?). He became an exciting and interesting teacher and lecturer, but Servetus's views on astrology led to his condemnation for teaching of medicine as a function of astrology. In 1538 he was charged and dismissed for lecturing on astrology.
Servetus then moved to Lyons, a port center more accepting of dissenting views, where he practiced medicine. For a while he lived at Vienne and served as personal physician to Archbishop Pierre Palmier. Establishing a general practice, he worked for the next 12 years and became a respected member of the medical community. He was elected by his colleagues to the Confraternity of Saint Luke, serving as supervisor to the apothecaries and overseeing work with indigent patients at the hospital.
In 1553 he wrote a book called The Restoration of Christianity, which discussed the pulmonary transit of the lungs within the framework of how the Holy Spirit entered man. According to the Bible, God breathed into man the breath of life or soul. Therefore, he reasoned that there must be a point of contact between the air and blood. Galen had surmised that the blood went through the septum, the dividers of the chambers of the heart. Challenging Galen's idea that this middle wall or septum was not suitable for such passing, he concluded that blood was pumped from the right side of the heart to the lungs through an artery and picked up the vital spirit or air. The "vital spirit" was then received in the left side of the heart, which then pumped blood into the arteries of the entire body.
This same document, along with letters to John Calvin, the Protestant reformer, was his downfall. His letters fell into the hands of the inquisitor in Lyons and his books were seized. He was tried and convicted of heresy but managed to escape with his life.
He decided Italy would be a safe place, but ended up going by way of Geneva, the hotbed of Protestant ideas. He was recognized and arrested. Calvin declared that Servetus must be put to death. He was given the opportunity to retract his ideas and on October 27, 1553, was burned at the stake while still declaring he was right and would never recant.
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