Harvey: the heart pumps blood around a circuit

What changed

Combined anatomical observations, experiments and quantitative reasoning to argue that blood circulates through the body.

Scientific scope

Combined anatomical observations, experiments and quantitative reasoning to argue that blood circulates through the body. Scope limitation: The 1628 book does not include later microscopic observation of capillaries. Earlier work on pulmonary circulation is not subsumed under Harvey’s credit.

Evidence

Assessment uses the catalogue-linked source evidence for the stated contribution. The 1628 book does not include later microscopic observation of capillaries. Earlier work on pulmonary circulation is not subsumed under Harvey’s credit.

Contributors

• William Harvey · SCIENCE: Named source contributor; exact labor shares are not measured.

• Harvey: the heart pumps blood around a circuit — institutional collection or historical source

Provisional WRS assessment, edition 2026-10-16.1. Independent expert calibration is pending. This grade does not certify correctness or assign ownership.

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