The low countries - 16th/19th century

Andreas Vesalius and Jan Baptist Van Helmont are the two major personalitie s who contributed substantially and in a different way to the early develop ment of renal anatomy/physiology of the 16th/17th century in the Southern L ow Countries. The importance of A. Vesalius' publication 'de humani corpori s fabrica libri septem' cannot be overestimated. The kidney was an intrigui ng organ to Vesalius, the function of which he could not fully grasp. J.B. Van Helmont was the first to demonstrate the importance of the measurement of the specific gravity of the urine and relating it to physiological and p athophysiological conditions. He made accurate clinical observations suppor ted by autopsy examinations concerning the role of the kidney in the genera tion of dropsy.