The unfolding of the blood circulation doctrine: the correspondence between William Harvey and Caspar Hofmann in May 1636

Abstract

The present article analyzes the letters exchanged by Caspar Hofmann and William Harvey in 1636 and the delineation of the main questions and answers on the blood circulation theory. The first part of the article presents concepts about blood circulation according to the time's physiology; the second part presents the changes introduced by Harvey; the third and last part presents the debate between Hofmann and Harvey.