History of Anatomy

Early Egyptians 1600 BC Masters of mummification Removed heart, liver, spleen, kidneys, hypothalamus, uterus, bladder

Knew that blood vessels came from heart Thought some vessels carried air, while other carried mucus

Early Greeks Explained illness in terms of the 4 body humors (fluids): blood phlegm yellow bile black bile

Healthy person had all four humors in balance.

Bloodletting was a way of getting rid of excess humors.

Hippocrates (460 to 379 BC) Earliest anatomist Greek physician Rejected superstitions Based medical treatments on observations

Herophilus (275 BC) Egyptian teacher Performed dissections Described organs Student of Hippocrates First to measure the pulse, for which he used a water clock.

Claudius Galen (120 to 200) Roman physician, “team doctor” for the gladiators. Kept them alive so they could fight again.

Did not dissect humans, but did extensive work on pigs and monkeys. His writings were taken as “law” for hundred of years.

Early anatomical drawing based on misinformation.

1235 First European medical school founded in Italy Human bodies publicly dissected

Books 1450s - Moveable type invented 1491 – First medical book published

Leonardo Da Vinci (1452 to 1519) Artist in Renaissance period Interested in human form, so studied anatomy. Dissected bodies in secret.

Da Vinci made hundreds of anatomically correct drawings.

Andreas Vesalius (1514 to 1564) Barber surgeon (combination barber, dentist, doctor). First scientist to accurately draw bodies.

Got special permission from the Pope to dissect criminals. Wrote the first accurate book on human anatomy – Fabrica.

Shortage of cadavers In England and Scotland, medical schools opened in 1600s. Relied on executed prisoners for cadavers

Serious Crimes The added punishment of being dissected after death was considered another deterrent to crime. Ex. – Steal a pig: you were hung Kill a person: you were hung & dissected Anatomists were often associated with executioners.

Because anatomists needed body parts, they bought odd things. A man could sell the leg of his son if it had to be amputated

William Harvey (English) Circa 1590 “Father of Anatomy”; studied circulatory system Harvey dissected his own freshly dead family members (his father and sister) before burial.

Grave Robbing Some medical students raided grave yards; some professors did also. In certain Scottish schools in 1700s, you could trade a corpse for your tuition.

Resurrectionists By 1828 in London, body snatchers (or resurrectionists) provided the medical schools with corpses.

Wealthy people chose to be buried in iron cages, some covered in concrete. Also churches built “dead houses” which were locked and guarded. String tied to bell.

Anatomy Act of 1832 – bodies of poor who were not claimed for burial could be used by anatomists. Operated under this same concept until recently. Donations are on the rise.