Johannes van Horne, Joannis van Horne (surname Latinized as Hornius, 2 September 1621 – 5 January 1670) was a Dutch anatomist best known for his illustrated atlas of
myology. He was a professor of anatomy and surgery at Leiden University where his students included
Nicolaus Steno
Niels Steensen (; Latinized to Nicolas Steno or Nicolaus Stenonius; 1 January 1638 – 25 November 1686 ) was a Danish scientist, a pioneer in both anatomy and geology who became a Catholic bishop in his later years. He has been beatified ...
.
Biography
Van Horne was born in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
in a Flemish merchant family. His father Jacob was a director of the
Dutch East India Company
The United East India Company ( ; VOC ), commonly known as the Dutch East India Company, was a chartered company, chartered trading company and one of the first joint-stock companies in the world. Established on 20 March 1602 by the States Ge ...
. Educated at the University of Leiden he shifted from literature to medicine and may have assisted
Johannes de Wale. He then went to study medicine at
Utrecht
Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...
under
Willem van der Straaten. He then travelled around Europe, attending
Johann Vesling
Johann Vesling (; 1598 – 30 August 1649) was a German anatomist and botanist from Minden, Westphalia. He published a major illustrated work on human anatomy ''Syntagma Anatomicum'' (1641).
Life and work
Vesling was born in Minden, Westphal ...
's classes at Padua,
Marco Aurelio Severino
Marco Aurelio Severino (November, 1580 – July 12, 1656) was an Italian surgeon and anatomist.
Biography
Severino was born in Tarsia (Calabria, Italy), of Giovanni Jacopo Severino, a lawyer. He died in a 1656 epidemic of plague in Naples.
...
at Naples, and visiting
Montpellier
Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...
and England. He received an honorary degree from the
University of Basel
The University of Basel (Latin: ''Universitas Basiliensis''; German: ''Universität Basel'') is a public research university in Basel, Switzerland. Founded on 4 April 1460, it is Switzerland's oldest university and among the world's oldest univ ...
. After returning home, he became a demonstrator of anatomy at
Leiden University
Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince of Orange as a Protestantism, Protestant institution, it holds the d ...
and became an extraordinary professor of anatomy in 1651. He was made full professor at Leiden University in 1652 when he succeeded
Otto Heurnius
Otto Heurnius (born Otto van Heurn; 8 September 1577 – 14 July 1652) was a Dutch physician, theologian and philosopher.
Life
He studied at Leiden University. He subsequently succeeded his father Johannes Heurnius as professor of medicine at Lei ...
. The next year he became professor of anatomy and surgery. His notable students included Nicolaus Steno,
Frederik Ruysch
Frederik Ruysch (; March 28, 1638 – February 22, 1731) was a Dutch botanist and anatomist. He is known for developing techniques for preserving anatomical specimens, which he used to create dioramas or scenes incorporating human parts. His ana ...
, and
Jan Swammerdam
Jan or Johannes Swammerdam (February 12, 1637 – February 17, 1680) was a Dutch biologist and microscopist. His work on insects demonstrated that the various phases during the life of an insect—Egg (biology), egg, larva, pupa, and adult†...
. Van Horne developed fine anatomical preparation techniques and began to describe human musculature in detail, making use of the painter Marten Sagemolen. He associated with Louis de Bils and came up with incorrect ideas on the digestive tract leading later to a polemic exchange. He published several books on surgery but his work on an atlas of myology, known only from a manuscript of which is in France is considered particularly influential. This was considered lost until it was rediscovered in 2016. The work helped establish the role of careful artistic illustration in anatomical books and instruction, particularly through the influence of students such as Steno.
References
External links
Opuscula anatomico-chirurgica(1707)
Mikrokosmos seu brevis manuductio ad historiam corporis humani(1662)
Mikrotechne, seu methodica ad chirurgiam introductio(1668)
Novus ductus chyliferus(1652)
* Myologie de l'homme (Manuscripts)
Volume 1Volume 2Volume 3Volume 4
(Atlas of Myology, 1660 MS
DescriptionNote on its discovery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Horne, Johannes
1621 births
1670 deaths
17th-century Dutch anatomists
Academic staff of Leiden University