Herophilus’ contributions to medicine were the most important in the history of the field. He banished several Roman taboos and superstitions when it came to the practice of medicine and personal health. After expelling much of the previously set ideas about the inner workings of the body, Herophilus became dedicated to educating the public and other scholars about the importance and maintenance of good health.
His commitment to accuracy and offerings to the field gave way-at least indirectly-to improvements in surgery, hygiene, medical practice, physiology and kinesiology, scientific investigation and many more, as well as-directly-to the area of neurosciences.
“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.
“-“On Medicine”, I Poem 23Herophilus was the first person in history to attain a highly accurate and detailed knowledge of the human anatomy. He did so through careful dissection of human corpses at a time when other “physicians” had used animal corpses. Herophilus even went a step further and actually vivisected the living-though only condemned criminals-as a means of learning about the human body when it was fully functioning rather than after death.
Experimentation was sanctioned on the condemned because according to Aristotelian beliefs, those who had committed heinous, inhuman crimes were without a soul, and thus could feel no pain. Through his studies he discovered the pulse and-although for the wrong reasons-deemed it important to maintaining life and indicating the presence of illness. Herophilus also discerned the difference between veins, arteries and capillaries, allowing for later breakthroughs in surgery made easier and safer by a more in depth knowledge of internal organs and functions.
Along with blood-vessels, he differentiated between motor and sensory nerves in the spine. Most notably, Herophilus is responsible for exploring the human brain, and recognising it as the vessel of intellect. His “discoveries” generated new ideas about the functions of the brain, which in turn led to the creation and development of Neuroscience. Due to the fact that the brain controls all bodily functions, systems and emotions, this is probably the most important field of medicine. His major concerns became health, diet and fitness.
After witnessing the inner workings of the body, he realized that drugs, food, beverages and virtually everything put into the body affected it; for better or worse. This caused Herophilus to become an advocate for gymnastics (exercise) a good, well balanced diet and drugs (also a belief central in the school of Hippocrates). The idea of Diet and Exercise as treatment and cure for diseases would be very widely believed until the 1990’s when focus would shift to the very unbalanced notion of using drugs as a sole cure-all in conventional medicine.
“Alternative” medical practice, however, became even more deeply rooted in the original beliefs; even the drugs of Herophilus’ time were almost always made of plants. The relatively simple, ideas of ancient Greece led to a modern purist approach to medicine that was to become Homeopathic Medicine a mere two centuries ago. Ironically, Homeopathic practitioners recognise the importance of ancient Greek/Roman scholars and physicians (Hippocrates and Herophilus being amongst the most influential) and beliefs in shaping their field*.
“Herophilus did not base his practice on the belief that diseases are sent to humans by gods as punishment or as rectification of some kind of moral or political disorder…”-Heinrich von Staden PhD classics and historyOne of the first and only scholars of his time not to base all his practice and belief in superstition, Herophilus chose instead to root his career and explorations in a more solid belief centred on trial&error and research. Prior to the time of Alexandrian scholars, human dissection was a big taboo based in both Greek and Roman religion.
Once Alexander the Great became ruler, Egyptian and Aristotelian principals came into play influencing public and political belief, allowing for a more liberal view on Dissection. Herophilus was the first to take advantage and learn as much as possible by means of dissection and vivisection. His findings loosened the prohibition of investigating the inner workings of the human body for over a century, to be shunned and then re-instated in the 1200’s, after the dark ages.
Most important, however, is not Herophilus influence on modern dissection itself, but in his establishing of the notion that scientific knowledge must be derived through practical, experimental, hands on ways in order to be properly comprehended and used. Essentially, he was the proprietor of the “Scientific Method” of stuffy, which has been invaluable in innumerable ways. Herophilus’ contributions, although many, were sadly all lost during the fire in the “Library” (the great Alexandrian University). All we know of him has been obtained through the writings of Galen.
In turn, Galen absorbed bits of his knowledge, which was passed on to his students, one of whom was Andreas Vesalius, who’s anatomical studies surpassed Herophilus and who is almost unanimously named the father of modern anatomy by today’s experts. Even if one discounts his anatomical accuracy, impact on essentially all subdivisions of the Medical and Holistic domains, and importance in improvement of the scientific study through cleaner practice and the Scientific Method, they still could not ignore the major bearing Herophilus had on Vesalius as a grand-teacher.
In turn, Vesalius directly affected science and medicine in undeniable ways. *The irony lies in that despite constant feuds occurring between conventional and alternative medical practitioners, both primarily derived their knowledge from the same source. FOOTNOTES:”Herophilus attained the highest degree of accuracy in things which because known by dissection, and he obtained the greater part of hid knowledge, not like the majority from the irrational animals, but from human beings themselves. “-Galen, 2nd century CE (cited in History of Medicine.
UofT press. Duffin, Jacalyn 1999, p15)Herophilus believed that there was a difference in how the body looked and worked when it was dead and how it worked when it was living. Because of this, he was adamant about observing the internal working of the human body in living subjects– He vivisected condemned criminals for precisely this purpose. (History of Medicine. UofT press. Duffin, Jacalyn 1999)Herophilus was the first to “legally” carry out dissections and vivisections. Due to Religious restrictions they were a taboo (Ancient Medicine. Routledge press.
Vivian Nutton 2004)Alexander’s rule of Egypt allowed Herophilus and Erasistratus freedom from Greek traditions (as in Egyptian tradition of mummification, which allowed for removal of organs etc. )Also Aristotle’s ideas of body and soul (no connection- body merely a vessel without a soul. )Scientific Method: science trough experimentationAdvocated healthy lifestyle through use of diet and fitness (Ancient Medicine. Routledge press. Vivian Nutton 2004)Began the idea that everything put into the body (including food and water) has an effect.
Created more accurate and detailed version of human anatomy, which allowed for the progression of surgery at a later date. (A Brief History of Medicine: From Hippocrates to Gene therapy. Carroll & Graf. Paul Strathern 2005)Also was the first to establish the difference between sensory and motor nervesDistinguished between veins, arteries and capillaries. Studied the functioning brain in depth-beginning of neurosciences. Majority of human anatomy knowledge still goes to Vesalius for correcting Galen’s mistakes since all of the works of Herophilus and Erasistratus were lost in a fire and survived through Galen and others.
“…But the loss of Herophilus’ anatomical observations was only one of the reasons why anatomy failed to flourish as a branch of medical knowledge. ” (Medicines 10 Greatest Discoveries. Yale University Press. Friedman, Meyer 1998)”[Herophilos] maintained that the pulse is not an innate faculty of the arteries, but one they derive from the heart. He also distinguished the pulse not merely quantitatively, but also qualitatively, from palpitations, tremors and spasms, which are muscular in origin.
” (Health systems- Alexandrian Medicine. University of Virginia. McDaniel, Amanda 1997)Vesalius; father of human anatomy, by Jerome Tarshis. various other sources also title Vesalius as such. Occasionally. Da-Vinci is given the credit, although he pre-dated Vesalius several decades (also co-insides in his last few years) his concerns with the body were far less scientific and detailed. Leonardo Da Vinci: The Anatomist by James Playfair Macmurrich, Williams & Wilkins Co. 1930An Herbal Medical Dictionary, Michael Moore.