Govert Bidloo

Govert Bidloo, also written Govard Bidloo, was a Dutch Golden Age physician, anatomist, poet and playwright, born in Amsterdam in 1649 into a Mennonite family. He apprenticed in surgery, studied anatomy under Frederik Ruysch and took his medical degree at Franeker in 1682. He lectured on anatomical dissection in The Hague from 1688, headed the national hospital service from 1690 and was personal physician to William III. From 1694 until his death in 1713 he was professor of anatomy and medicine at Leiden, succeeded by Herman Boerhaave. His anatomical atlas of 1685, illustrated by Gerard de Lairesse, described the papillary ridges of the skin. He also wrote poetry and the libretto of the first Dutch opera.