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The Da Vinci Notes

Da Vinci Notes 10: The Old Man's Vessels

A man who said he was a hundred died beside me at Santa Maria Nuova. I opened him to see the cause of so sweet a death, and found it in his vessels.

Leonardo's centenarian dissection of 1507 to 1508: thickened, snake-like vessels, the child of two years, the oranges, and why narrow vessels carry so little blood.

Leonardo da Vinci November 8, 2026 29 min

#Leonardo da Vinci #Da Vinci Notes #Anatomy #History of medicine #Atherosclerosis #Blood flow #Renaissance science

The Da Vinci Notes

Da Vinci Notes 09: Muscles as Cords: The Arm and the Turning of the Hand

I draw each muscle as a thread from its beginning to its end, weigh the elbow as the pole of a balance, and find the cord that turns the hand palm up.

Leonardo's arm studies of 1510 to 1511: muscles drawn as threads, the elbow as a lever, why the biceps pulls nine times the weight, and how it turns the hand.

Leonardo da Vinci November 8, 2026 32 min

#Leonardo da Vinci #Da Vinci Notes #Anatomy #Biomechanics #Muscles #Renaissance science #History of medicine