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Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) made far-reaching contributions in many areas of science, technology and art. Leonardo's pioneering research into the brain led him to make discoveries in neuroanatomy (such as the maxillary antrum) and neurophysiology (he was the first to pith a frog). His injection of hot wax into the brain of an ox provided a cast of the ventricles and represents the first known use of a solidifying medium to define the shape and size of an internal body structure. Leonardo developed an original, mechanistic model of sensory physiology. He undertook his research with the broad goal of providing physical explanations of how the brain processes visual and other sensory input, and integrates that information via the soul.

	Figure 1, panel A: drawing of the human skull (c.1489)
	Figure 1, panel B: two drawings of the human skull (c.1489)
	Figure 1, panel C: the brain, cranial nerves, and ventricles (c.1490)
	Figure 1, panel D: brain, cranial nerves, and cerebral ventricles (c.1506)

	Additional writings by Leonardo da Vinci on the brain
	Bibliography: books on Leonardo da Vinci and his brain research
	Links page: web sites on Leonardo da Vinci
	Medieval and Renaissance images of the brain and the cerebral ventricles

The above nine thumbnails are used with kind permission of the Institute of the History of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University. No images on these pages may be reproduced without permission.

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