History of Classical Anatomy

Christopher E Cosans, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA

Published online: April 2001

DOI: 10.1038/npg.els.0003091

Anatomy was developed in ancient Greece by physicians and natural philosophers who used dissection and vivisection to investigate the nature of the body. Throughout classical antiquity different techniques were advanced as anatomists debated various theories.

Keywords: anatomy; body; dissection; experiment; vivisection

 Further Reading
    Cosans C (1998) Aristotle's anatomical philosophy of nature. Biology and Philosophy 13: 311–339.
    Cosans C (1998) The experimental foundations of Galen's teleology. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science 29: 63–80.
    book Craik EM (1998) Hippocrates: Places in Man. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
    book Kuriyama S (1999) The Expressiveness of the Body and the Divergence of Greek and Chinese Medicine. New York: Zone Books.
    Lloyd GER (1975) Alcmaeon and the early history of dissection. Sudhoffs Archiv 59: 113–147.
    Longrigg J (1988) Anatomy in Alexandria. British Journal of History of Science 21: 455–488.
    Siraisi NG (1997) Vesalius and the reading of Galen's teleology. Renaissance Quarterly 50: 1–37.
    book von Staden H (1989) Herophilus: The Art of Medicine in Early Alexandria. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
    von Staden H (1992) The discovery of the body. Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine 65: 223–241.
    von Staden H (1995) Anatomy as rhetoric: Galen on dissection and persuasion. Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences 50: 47–66.

Related Sub-Topics:

Health Care | History
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Article Title: History of Classical Anatomy
 
How to Cite close
Cosans, Christopher E(Apr 2001) History of Classical Anatomy. In: eLS. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester. http://www.els.net [doi: 10.1038/npg.els.0003091]