William Harvey

It seems to me that the motion of the blood is like that of water in a mill-stream.

The quantity of blood transmitted from the veins to the arteries, and so into the whole body, is so great that it must return to the heart.

The vital spirit is not a separate entity, but intimately connected with the blood.

I have seen, and by my own experiments, demonstrated the truth of what I assert.

The left ventricle of the heart ejects blood into the aorta.

The blood, therefore, returns by the veins to the heart.

I have not been afraid to publish my thoughts, knowing that truth, though for a time suppressed, will at last prevail.

The circulation of the blood is a new thing, never before heard of, or at least not truly understood.

The motion of the blood is in a circle, and is in truth perpetual.

I have always preferred to learn and teach anatomy from actual dissection and not from books.

The blood is the source of life, and the heart is the fountain thereof.

It is by experiment alone that we can arrive at the knowledge of nature.

The valves in the veins are so constructed as to permit the passage of blood towards the heart, but to prevent its return.

The blood carries nourishment to all parts of the body.

The heart does not draw the blood, but propels it.

I have been accused by some of daring to depart from the opinions of the ancients.

The pulse is nothing more than the impulsion of the blood into the arteries.

The blood in the veins moves towards the heart, not away from it.

The heart is a muscle, and its function is to pump blood.

I have not only affirmed, but also demonstrated, the circulation of the blood.