Androtomy
Encyclopedia
Androtomy is the dissection of the human body
. Another term for it is anthropotomy "dissection of a human". Androtomy is to be distinguished from zoötomy "dissection of an animal".
The first recorded dissection of the human body in the Western world took place in ancient Alexandria
by Herophilus and Erasistratus
. Though none of their writings have come down to us, other medical writers recorded what they had discovered.
One such writer was Celsus
who wrote in On Medicine I Proem 23, "Herophilus and Erasistratus proceeded in by far the best way: they cut open living men - criminals they obtained out of prison from the kings and they observed, while their subjects still breathed, parts that nature had previously hidden, their position, color, shape, size, arrangement, hardness, softness, smoothness, points of contact, and finally the processes and recesses of each and whether any part is inserted into another or receives the part of another into itself."
Galen
was another such writer who was familiar with the studies of Herophilus and Erasistratus.
Human body
The human body is the entire structure of a human organism, and consists of a head, neck, torso, two arms and two legs.By the time the human reaches adulthood, the body consists of close to 100 trillion cells, the basic unit of life...
. Another term for it is anthropotomy "dissection of a human". Androtomy is to be distinguished from zoötomy "dissection of an animal".
The first recorded dissection of the human body in the Western world took place in ancient Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
by Herophilus and Erasistratus
Erasistratus
Erasistratus was a Greek anatomist and royal physician under Seleucus I Nicator of Syria. Along with fellow physician Herophilus, he founded a school of anatomy in Alexandria, where they carried out anatomical research...
. Though none of their writings have come down to us, other medical writers recorded what they had discovered.
One such writer was Celsus
Aulus Cornelius Celsus
Aulus Cornelius Celsus was a Roman encyclopedist, known for his extant medical work, De Medicina, which is believed to be the only surviving section of a much larger encyclopedia. The De Medicina is a primary source on diet, pharmacy, surgery and related fields, and it is one of the best sources...
who wrote in On Medicine I Proem 23, "Herophilus and Erasistratus proceeded in by far the best way: they cut open living men - criminals they obtained out of prison from the kings and they observed, while their subjects still breathed, parts that nature had previously hidden, their position, color, shape, size, arrangement, hardness, softness, smoothness, points of contact, and finally the processes and recesses of each and whether any part is inserted into another or receives the part of another into itself."
Galen
Galen
Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus , better known as Galen of Pergamon , was a prominent Roman physician, surgeon and philosopher...
was another such writer who was familiar with the studies of Herophilus and Erasistratus.