Barbara Orland

My research

I am exploring ancient knowledge about the human body and the nature of animals, which is radically different from our modern ideas. For example, the circulatory system was not discovered until the early 17th century. Until then, it was believed that blood was used as nourishment throughout the body and had to be constantly replenished. This was a far-reaching idea from antiquity that influenced natural philosophy just as much as it did medicine and the art of cooking.