During the dissection and the sketching we came very close to what we believe Leonardo da Vinci actually did. This in itself is very useful in studying Leonardo’s methods and thinking because it gave us a glimpse as to what he actually saw and experienced. It quickly became clear how someone could be inspired to study the heart in depth after seeing how complex it looks on first viewing. As we tried to make sense of the mess in front of us, a bit of the da Vincian curiosity was definitely present. In addition, seeing and doing what Leonardo saw and did gives us a better understanding of his conclusions. Given the same data that he had we can be more realistic about what he could and couldn’t have deduced from his dissections. In fact, seeing what he saw confirms his genius because what he gathered from his dissections are certainly not easily comprehended based on a cut up pig’s heart.