Reinier de Graaf en zijn plaats in het fysiologisch onderzoek van de zeventiende eeuw

Abstract

Reinier de Graaf and his position in 17th-century physiological research On the occasion of the commemoration of Reinier de Graafs birth 350 years ago, which took place in Delft (November 1991) a survey was made of the present state of historical research concerning De Graafs contributions to 17th-century physiolog)'. By considering the relationship between the circulation the blood and chyle, and the study of generation; the neglected differences between the editions of De Graaf Tractatus; the one-sided vision of De Graaf as iatrochemist; the context of the contemporary debate on the role of chyle and lymph in the body; the relevance of his experiments with splenectomy; and, in particular, De Graafs position in the debate on intermittent fevers, initiated by Thomas Willis in 1659; and referring finally to the religious dimension in De Graafs life and works, we tried to emphasize much still has to be done to clarify the position of Reinier de Graaf in 17th-century physiology'.