Andreas Vesalius th century Flemish anatomist cc Vesalius great work on anatomy De Humani Corporis Fabrica On the Structure of the Human Body was a landmark with accurate depictions of parts of the body including the nervous system Vesalius based his work on dissection and personal observation disproving the belief that because in Genesis God created Eve from Adams rib men had one less rib than women He contradicted Aristotles teaching that the heart is the seat of the emotions replacing it with the brain and the nervous system From Essays in Physiognomy by JK Lavater London