S1.E17 ∙ Pyrotechnician/Eiffel Abseiler/Jackpot Jockey

In this series, Adam Rutherford looks at the work of second century anatomist of the Roman Empire, Claudius Galen. Galen used first hand experience to describe his anatomical observations in writing so detailed that later Persian translations included illustrations. After the fall of Constantiople, classical works influenced Renaissance thinkers and artists like Leonardo da Vinci, who also performed dissections to discover how the human body works. Following Galen's evidence based investigation, Andreas Vesalius performed public dissections in Padua, noting in detailed illustrations and descriptions the human skeleton, muscles, nerves, organ and brain. His illustrations were classically posed before a landscape, showing a body in motion. Vesalius is known as the Founder of Modern Anatomy because of his "De Humani Corporis Fabrica" (The Fabric of the Human Body), that is as artful as it is accurate.

David Ireland ventures into the wild for close animal encounters.

Great Nature is an entirely new kind of natural history series that introduces some of Earth's most stunning vistas, shows how they were created, and reveals nature's marvels in a style that's bursting with detail.