Aselli continued the great Italian tradition of the study of anatomy. He studied at the University of Padua under Giambattista Carcano Leone, who was a disciple of Gabrielle Fallopio. In 1622, when performing the dissection of a dog, Aselli found the lacteal vessels, which had gone previously unnoticed. Thus, Aselli for the first time explained the physiology of these vessels. However, Aselli’s treatise is also important in the history of anatomical illustration. It is one of the first medical books to include chiaroscuro woodcuts, which are made by using several woodblocks printed in different colors.
Gaspare Aselli
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De lactibus sive lacteis venis quarto vasorum mesaraicorum genere novo invento… dissertatio Milan: Giovanni Battista Bidelli, 1627 The Le Roy Crummer Collection