clitoris as a predominantly sexual organ. Falloppio published his own book, Observationes Anatomicae, in 1561, but there is evidence that Falloppio had written notes on his discovery of the clitoris eleven years earlier in 1550. In 1574, Leone Giovanni Battista Carcano (1536–1606), a student of Falloppio, formally charged Colombo of plagiarism, although since Colombo had been dead for over a decade nothing came of these charges. Colombo’s criticisms of Galen Realdo Colombo did not accept the work of previous anatomists without proof, and in some cases sought to criticize or discredit them. He especially criticized Galen’s work, and was angered by those who swore on Galen’s ideas, saying “that they dare to affirm that Galen is to be taken as Gospel, and that nothing in his writing is not true!” For example, he argued that Galen’s use of animals in dissection was not solid evidence that his anatomy was sound. He also criticized Vesalius for his hypocrisy in correcting Galen’s work while still avoiding human dissection. Colombo instead respected the work of Alexandrian physicians, as he viewed their use of human dissection as more accurate than animal dissection or vivisection. His use of vivisection to examine the contractions of the heart and arteries contradicted Galen’s findings, and supported the theories of the Alexandrian physician Erasistratus. Prior to Colombo’s work, anatomists such as Galen and Vesalius examined blood vessels separately from the organs of the body. Colombo instead considered these vessels together with the organs they support, and from this was able to conceptualize the flow of blood to and from each organ, supporting his discovery of pulmonary transition of the blood. Colombo also viewed the lungs separately from the heart, and assigned it as having a special role in respiration. This approach to examination gave him a more firm understanding of the functions of the organs as well, and strengthened his criticisms of Galen. Methodology Colombo put an emphasis on vivisection, the practice of experimentation or scientific research on live animals, in order to learn about the different bodily functions of the human body. According to Colombo’s book, “De Re Anatomica Libri XV,” he put energy into dissecting, in particular the cadavers of men. Colombo anatomized the live, active body whereas his contemporaries had anatomized the dead body. Colombo’s concentration on vivisection revived the practice of ancient Alexandrian anatomists, using live animals instead of dead, which led him to adopting