Question 1

True or false: Vesalius discovered the human appendix, which Galen had missed.

Accepted Answer

False. False. Galen described the appendix, but Vesalius corrected Galen’s errors about the human jawbone and sternum, among others.

Question 2

True or false: Vesalius was a professor of surgery at the University of Padua at age 23.

Accepted Answer

True. True. He became professor of surgery at Padua in 1537, just a day after earning his doctorate, at age 23.

Question 3

True or false: Vesalius was a personal physician to King Henry VIII of England.

Accepted Answer

False. False. Vesalius served as physician to Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and later Philip II of Spain, not Henry VIII.

Question 4

True or false: Vesalius’s 'Fabrica' was the first medical book to include detailed anatomical illustrations.

Accepted Answer

False. False. Earlier works had illustrations, but Vesalius’s were unprecedented in accuracy and artistry, often attributed to Titian’s workshop.

Question 5

True or false: Vesalius’s book 'De humani corporis fabrica' was published when he was only 28 years old.

Accepted Answer

True. True. The first edition of 'De Fabrica' came out in 1543, when Vesalius was 28, showcasing his early mastery of anatomy.

Question 6

True or false: Vesalius once used a skeleton to help a wealthy patient fake their own death.

Accepted Answer

True. True. He allegedly helped a Spanish nobleman fake death by substituting a skeleton, allowing him to escape execution.

Question 7

True or false: Vesalius died as a result of a shipwreck on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

Accepted Answer

True. True. After a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, his ship wrecked on the Greek island of Zakynthos, where he died in 1564.

Question 8

True or false: Vesalius performed autopsies on living criminals as public demonstrations.

Accepted Answer

False. False. This is a myth. Vesalius only dissected cadavers, never live subjects, though he did famously correct Galen’s errors using human remains.

Andreas Vesalius Trivia Questions