Eminent Anatomists and Physiologists
Herophilus
Herophilus ( c335 – 280 B.C.) was a Greek physician born in Chalcedon (now part of Turkey). He was one of the founders of the great medical school of Alexandria and one of the first to base his conclusions in anatomy on the dissection of the human body. His contributions to the field of anatomy include the study of the brain which he recognized as the centre of the nervous system and seat of intelligence. He also distinguished between nerves and blood vessels and motor from sensory nerves. He also made contributions to the study of the eye, liver, pancreas and alimentary tract. He is regarded as one of the founders of the scientific method and introduced some standard terms to describe anatomical phenomena. His writings were lost but he is often quoted by the famous anatomist Galen. A part of the skull - the Torcular Herophili is still named after him.
Galen
Galen was a Greek physician from Pergamum. There are questions about his exact dates but 129 A.D. to 200 A.D.seems the most popular. Galens’ contributions to the field of anatomy dominated Western medical thought for a millennium. Dissecting humans was against Roman law during Galen’s life time so he dissected pigs, apes and other animals and in some cases this gave rise to errors when applying Galen’s anatomical ideas to humans. Galen also studied in Corinth and Alexandria but perhaps most famously he worked in Pergamum in the gladiator school and worked on a great variety of wounds which enabled him to increase his knowledge. Galen was one of the first to distinguish between veins and arteries for example. He also experimented with eye surgery – cataract removal. In 162 he moved to Rome and eventually became the physician to the Emperor Marcus Aurelius. His vivisections on Barbary apes enabled him to study the spinal column and kidneys in more detail. His anatomical legacy is to be found in many Arabic medical writings, especially in the works of Hunayn ibn Ishaq. Constantine the African reintroduces Galen into the Christian world and Galen’s works became very popular in Medieval Europe. and in the 1530′s his works were influencing Andreas Vesalius
Andreas Vesalius
Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564) was an anatomist and physician and the author of one of the most influential books of human anatomy : “De humani corporis fabrica”. He is widely regarded as the founder of modern human anatomy. He was born in Brussels and educated in Pavia then after 1528 at the University of Leuven and Paris from 1533 where he was influenced by Galen’s work. He received his doctorate from Padua in 1537. Vesalius kept meticulous drawings of his dissections, initially of animals and he published his Tabulae Anatomics Sex. After 1539 he had the bodies of executed criminals in Padua to dissect and this lead to more detailed anatomical drawings. Human dissection made Vesalius realise some of Galen’s errors and Vesalius wrote about the human four chambered heart, two lobed liver and single human jawbone.. Vesalius is responsible for the first anatomically prepared skeleton. In 1534 he produced his great work De Humani but his major contributions in the field of anatomy extend to descriptions of the sphenoid bone, sternum, sacrum, vena azygos, spleen, colon, pleura and mechanical ventilation. He dies on his way back from pilgrimage in 1564 on the Greek island of Zakynthos. Vesalius was truly a “great” in the filed of anatomy.
William Harvey
William Harvey ( 1578-1657) was the English physician who is credited with being the first in the Western world to correctly and in detail describe the systemic circulation and the properties of blood being pumped around the body by the heart. This is a huge contribution to the field of anatomy. He studied in Cambridge and Padua and became a doctor at St Bartholomew’s hospital before becoming a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Fellow at Merton College Oxford. Harvey announced his discovery of the circulatory system in 1616 and in 1628 published his book “An Anatomical Exercise on the Motion of the Heart and Blood in Animals.” which was very much at variance with Galen’s ideas and established thought. Harvey based his conclusions on careful observation in animal dissection and on humans using ligatures.
Basically he described the two closed loop system where there is the pulmonary circulation and the systemic circulation. He also realized that the heart was a pump and that the arteries took blood away from the heart and veins back to heart and his anatomical findings were confirmed by Malpighi at a later late. Previously Galen had felt that the liver was partially responsible for circulation.. These discoveries easily make Harvey one of the giants in the field of anatomy.
Now we discuss three eminent physiologists
Richard Lower
Richard Lower (1631-1691) was a Cornish physician who carried our research in London – some in partnership with Robert Hooke. His major work is “Tractatus de Corde” 1669 which is concerned with the working of the heart and lungs and he is famous for being the first to experiment with blood transfusions. Richard Lower is regarded as a pioneer in experimental physiology. In November 1667 Lower worked with Sir William King to transfer sheep’s blood into a man who was mentally ill. Lower also studied the arterial circle at the base of the brain named after his teacher Willis. Lower also examined cerebrospinal fluid and his book De Cattarhis disproved earlier theories of nasal secretions being overspill from the brain. Another physiological study was his discussion on digestive fluids.
Claude Bernard
Claude Bernard (1813 -1878) is a French physiologist who is considered by some to be the father of modern physiology. His famous major work is “An Introduction to the Study of Experimental Medicine” 1865. In Paris he was in contact with the great French physiologist Francois Magendie. and he was the first occupant of the chair of physiology at the Sorbonne.. His aim was to establish the use of scientific method in medicine. His first major and important work was on the function of the pancreas gland and its use in digestion which won him the prize for experimental physiology at the French Academy of Sciences. His second and perhaps most famous work was on the glycogenic function of the liver which was now seen as the seat of internal secretion by which sugars prepared. He id notable work on vaso- motor nerves, He is perhaps most closely associated with homeostasis and its key processes and principles. He also conducted research in poisons e.g. curare and carbon monoxide.
Sir Edward Albert Sharpey-Schafer
The German born English naturalized Sir Edward Albert Sharpey-Schafer (1850 – 1935) perhaps is most famous as he was the English physiologist who coined the term “insulin” after theorizing that a single substance from the pancreas was responsible for diabetes millitus. He also coined the term “endocrine” for the secretions of the ductless glands and work on adrenaline (with George Oliver) in 1894. He held the Chair of Physiology in Edinburgh from 1899-1933. In addition to many valuable papers on muscular structure, chemistry of the blood and voluntary contractions and absorption his main works include “A Course in Practical Histology” 1877. “Essentials of Histology” 1885 and “Experimental Physiology” 1910. His long and illustrious career surely ensures he is one of the greats of physiology.
Dr Simon Harding
www.chronoshealthcare.com
Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/medicine-articles/eminent-anatomists-and-physiologists-1622303.html
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