The roots of Western medicine, Hellenistic
- Shidonna Raven
- Apr 23
- 1 min read
Source: Britannica
Photo Source: Unsplash,
Hellenistic and Roman medicine
In the following century the work of Aristotle, regarded as the first great biologist, was of inestimable value to medicine. A pupil of Plato at Athens and tutor to Alexander the Great, Aristotle studied the entire world of living things. He laid what can be identified as the foundations of comparative anatomy and embryology, and his views influenced scientific thinking for the next 2,000 years.
After the time of Aristotle, the center of Greek culture shifted to Alexandria, where a famous medical school was established about 300 bce. There the two best medical teachers were Herophilus, whose treatise on anatomy may have been the first of its kind, and Erasistratus, regarded by some as the founder of physiology. Erasistratus noted the difference between sensory and motor nerves but thought that the nerves were hollow tubes containing fluid and that air entered the lungs and heart and was carried through the body in the arteries. Alexandria continued as a center of medical teaching even after the Roman Empire had attained supremacy over the Greek world, and medical knowledge remained predominantly Greek.
Would you like US to pray with you, then leave a post (comment) or contact US directly.
What is your faith? How can it impact your health? Why?
Share the wealth of health with your family and friends by sharing this article with 3 people today.
If this article was helpful to you, donate to the Shidonna Raven Garden and Cook E-Magazine Today. Thank you in advance.
Comments