Richard Lower (1631-1691) and his early contributions to cardiology.

Although little is written of Richard Lower he was perhaps the most influential English physiologist of the seventeenth century after Harvey. He is most remembered for his works on transfusion and the function of the cardiopulmonary system (Tractatus de Corde). Herein, we review the life of this important historical medical figure and present his little known posthumously published appendix regarding the function and morphology of the heart as published in John Browne's Myographia Nova.