“Blinding ignorance

does mislead us. Oh!

Wretched mortals open your eyes.”

Leonardo Da Vinci and his contribution to Medicine and Urology

Thomas J, Motiwala H, Karim O, Laniado M, Rao A

Department of Urology, Wexham Park Hospital, Royal County of Berkshire, UK

Leonardo da VinciAnatomist

Inventor

Materials and Methods

Early Life

Born Leonardo Di Ser Piero Da Vinci 1452Illegitimate son of a notary and a peasant girlAge 14 he was apprenticed to the leading Florentine sculptor of the day Andrea del Verrochio

The Study of Anatomy

Majority of anatomical dissections were based on pigs, oxen and horsesLeonardo himself stated to have dissected between 5 - 30 human bodies1500 to 1511 collaborated with the doctor Marcantonio della Torre -together they planned to publish an anatomical atlas : “Of the Human Figure”.

"Leonardo da Vinci was like a man who awoke too early in the darkness, while the others were all still asleep" Sigmund Freud

“This my configuration of the human body will be

demonstrated to you just as if you had the natural man

before you. The reason is that if you want to know

thoroughly the anatomical parts of man you must either

turn him or your eye in order to examine him from different

aspects, from below, from above, and from the sides,

turning him round and investigating the origin of each part;

and by this method your knowledge of natural anatomy is

satisfied”

Anatomy of the Genito-Urinary system

The Kidney

Topography of renal vessels in relation to the proximal ureter

The Bladder

“the origin of the penis is situated upon the pubic bone so that it can resist its active force on coition. If this bone did not exist, the penis in meeting resistance, would turn backward and would often enter more into the body of the operator than into that of the operated.”

The Robotic Knight

First robot designed 1495Design based on anatomical

knowledge

The Da Vinci Robot

The Da Vinci Robot

Other inventions by Leonardo Da Vinci include: Catapult,

Glider, Parachute and Helicopter

“He who loves practice without theory is like the sailor who boards ship without a rudder and compass and never knows where he may cast.”

References and Acknowledgments

Mr. Amrith Rao

Mr. Karim, Mr. Motiwala, Mr. Laniado and Library staff at Wexham Park Hospital

Leonardo Da Vinci: The Anatomy of Man : Drawings from the Collection of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Martin Clayton (Author), Ronald Philo (Author), da Vinci Leonardo (Author)

Michael E. Moran. The da Vinci Robot. Journal of Endourology. December 1, 2006, 20(12): 986-990

Schultheiss D, Laurenza D, Gotte B, Jonas U. BJU International (1999)84, 595-600. The Weimar anatomical sheet of Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519): an illustration of the genitourinary tract

Schutte H, Herman J (1979) Urogenital Drawings by Leonardo Da Vinci, New York State Journal of Medicine

Murphy L, The Medical Journal of Australia( 1964) Leonardo Da Vinci and the Anatomy of the Genito-Urinary system