Leonardo da Vinci Anatomist exhibition at Buckingham Palace

Leonardo da Vinci Anatomist exhibition at Buckingham Palace

• Da Vinci's fascination with the human body led him to embark on a 'campaign of dissection' in hospitals
  
• Some of his findings were so revolutionary some could not be proved until the development of MRI scanners
  
• The artist came tantalisingly close to discovering the science of blood circulation - a century before it was achieved
• If his findings had been published, his discoveries would have transformed European knowledge on the subject

By Rebecca English

PUBLISHED: 13:09 EST, 30 April 2012 | UPDATED: 21:10 EST, 30 April 2012

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He is already recognised as one of the greatest artists of the Renaissance period.

Now a stunning new exhibition at Buckingham Palace demonstrates how Leonardo da Vinci was also one of the most ground-breaking anatomists of all time.

Indeed his findings dating from the late 1490s and early 1500s were so revolutionary that some could not be conclusively proved until the development of MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scanners in the 1980s, which use radio waves to take detailed pictures of the body.

Among the 24 sketches never before seen included a detailed study of the right ventricle and valves of the heart

A closer examination of the right ventricle and tricuspid valve, left, and far right, Da Vinci pens his analysis of the movement inside the heart

Da Vanci explores the vessels of the neck and shoulder, left, and right, the bones and muscles of the shoulder

Da Vinci's fascination with the human body began through his desire to be 'true to nature' in his paintings and led him to embark on what can only be described as a campaign of dissection in hospitals and medical schools throughout Florence.

Many of the corpses he worked on were the bodies of executed criminals or those who had no relatives to claim them for burial.

He had hoped to publish his findings in a treatise on anatomy and had he done so, his discoveries would have transformed European knowledge on the subject.

But on his death in 1519, his notes and drawings remained hidden away amongst his mass of private papers and effectively lost to the world for 400 years.

Arguably his greatest investigations focus on the workings of the heart - and the artist came tantalisingly close to discovering the science behind the circulation of blood, a century before it was officially achieved.

According to Royal Collection curator Martin Clayton, da Vinci became fascinated with a swelling he discovered at the root of the aorta, just beneath the aortic valve.

The brachial plexus, and umbilical vessels, left, and right, the veins of the pelvic and lumbar region

The brachial plexus, left, and right, Da Vinci explores the thetrachea, stomach and right vagus nerve

Leonardo Da Vinci, right, also paid close attention to the abdomen, left, during his extensive analysis of the human anatomy

In order to investigate this he injected melted wax into the heart of an ox in order to make a cast from inside the cavity.

He then made a glass model from the cast which he pumped with water containing a suspension of grass seeds so that he could witness the 'turbulence' that took place.

From his research he deduced that this swelling was responsible for the closure of the aortic value after each beat of the heart - a theory which was not suggested again until 1912 and even then not conclusively confirmed until less than 30 years ago.

Another ground-breaking discovery came in the winter of 1508-1509 when da Vinci was present at the death of an old man.

He wrote: 'And this old man, a few hours before his death, told me that he was over 100 years old, and that he felt nothing wrong with his body other than weakness... And I dissected him to see the cause of so sweet a death.'

Da Vinci then goes on to provide the first ever description and diagnosis of coronary vascular occlusion - a partial or complete blockage of an artery to the heart - as well as arteriosclerosis, or a hardening of the arteries, and cirrhosis of the liver.

The muscles of the trunk and leg, left, and right, the stomach and related structures

The muscles of the legs, left, and right, the male and female reproductive systems, with a detailed breakdown of the individual parts for both men and women

The muscles of the leg, right, and left, a close look at the individual nerves inside the leg

Other studies concentrate on muscle form and the body's reproductive organs, particularly the formation of embryos, with astonishingly detailed drawings of babies still inside their mother's bodies.

One study illustrating every bone in the human body is accompanied by 240 individual drawings of astounding clarity and more than 13,000 words of notes - all in his famed 'mirror writing'.

There has been much debate as to why da Vinci wrote backwards but most seem to think that it was down to a combination of him being left handed and dyslexic. Writing in this manner enabled his hand to move quickly without smudging the ink.

'To say that Leonardo was a man ahead of his time doesn't even come close to describing his genius,' explained Mr Clayton.

'His drawings are among the finest depictions of the human body ever created. Had he published this work, he would now be known as one of the greatest scientists in history.'

Professor Peter Abrahams, Professor of Clinical Anatomy at Warwick Medical School, added: 'For me as an anatomist, what Leonardo did was bring all his disciplines of architecture, geometry, engineering and combine it with an art expression that was quite unique. He put all these things together to try and explain not only how things looked but how things worked, and in that he was certainly unique.

The cardiovascular system and principal organs of a woman, right, and left, extracts from The Centenarian, Anatomical Manuscript B that Da Vinci penned

The contents of the topics to be investigated in the manuscript that has gone on display, and right, miscellaneous notes and anatomical sketches

Amongst his studies he also investigated the thoracic and abdominal cavities of an ox, left, and right, the blood supply of a foetal calf

'If you were to take ten specialists in the fields of which he worked, geometry, anatomy, physiology, engineering and architecture, I doubt if ten professors in those fields would have the knowledge base and talents that Leonardo had.'

Da Vinci, who died in 1519, bequeathed all his notebooks and drawings to his young assistant, Francesco Melzi, who, over the next 50 years, tried to make sense of his master's daunting legacy.

His son sold on many of the papers to the sculptor Pompeo Leoni who mounted the anatomical drawings into a large album which eventually made its way to England and is believed to have been bought by King Charles II.

It has been in the Royal Collection, which is held in trust by The Queen for the nation, since at least 1690.

The collection boasts the largest compendium of Leonardo drawings in the world, some 600 in all, of which 268 are anatomical sketches. Only one other of his anatomical drawings exists elsewhere today.

Of these, 87 are currently on display at The Queen's Gallery in Buckingham Palace - many of which have never been publicly seen since they were drawn by the genius himself.

Leonardo da Vinci: Anatomist runs until October. For further details see www.royalcollection.org.uk.

One of Da VInci's more well-known anatomical drawings, 'The Foetus in the Womb'

The Leonardo Da Vinci: Anatomist exhibition at The Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace, runs until October

Queen's Gallery worker Rachel Woollen adjusts 'The Foetus in the Womb', one of Leonardo da Vinci's studies of the human body, during a preview of the upcoming exhibition

The Royal Collection boasts the largest compendium of Leonardo drawings in the world, some 600 in all, of which 268 are anatomical sketches

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