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Iatromathematicians (from Greek ἰατρική "medicine" and μαθηματικά "mathematics") were a school of physicians in 17th-century Italy who tried to apply the laws of mathematics and mechanics in order to understand the functioning of the human body. They were also keen students of anatomy. These iatromathematicians made an effort to prove that applying a purely mechanical conception to the study of the human body is futile. The mechanical conceptions that they had referred to was Leonardo da Vinci’s studies of the human body, and the writings of Aristotle about the motion of animals related to geometric analysis. Iatromathematicians considered the bodies functioning to be measured by quantifiable numbers, weights, and measures.