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Erasistratus
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Erasistratus

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Also known as Erasistratus of Ceus, Erasistratos

Erasistratus (; ; c. 304 – c. 250 BC) 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. As well, he is credited with helping to found the methodic school of teachings of medicine in Alexandria whilst opposing traditional humoral theories of Hippocratic ideologies. Together with Herophilus, he is credited by historians as the potential founder of neuroscience due to his acknowledgements of nerves and their roles in motor control through the

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Vinony's link graph records 93 inbound references to Erasistratus, and connects out to anatomy, Hippocrates and vivisection.

It is catalogued under topics including 250s BC deaths, 300s BC births and 3rd-century BC Greek medical doctors.

Vinony links it to 33 Wikipedia language editions.

Person · Open Library

Works
1

Top works

  • Tabulae anatomicae a celeberrimo pictore Petro Berrettino Cortonensi delineatae

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Key facts

Person.name
Erasistratus of Ceos
Person.image
Musée Ingres-Bourdelle - Etude pour LA MALADIE D'ANTIOCHUS, OU ANTIOCHUS ET STRATONICE ; buste d'Erasistrate, vers 1860 - Ingres - MI.16.1.3.jpg
Person.caption
Erasistratus by Ingres
Person.native_name_lang
Greek
Person.birth_date
304 BC
Person.death_date
250 BC
Person.occupation
Physician
Person.era
Hellenistic Greece

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of
human
Gender
male
Occupation
physician
Languages spoken
Ancient Greek
Field of work
medicine
Image
Musée Ingres-Bourdelle - Etude pour LA MALADIE D'ANTIOCHUS, OU ANTIOCHUS ET STRATONICE ; buste d'Erasistrate, vers 1860 - Ingres - MI.16.1.3.jpg
Show 8 more facts
date of birth
0330-00-00
date of death
0250-00-00
described by source
Pauly–Wissowa
writing language
Ancient Greek
ethnic group
Greeks
Commons category
Erasistratus
significant place
Kea
Sources (1)

via Wikidata · CC0

~21 min read

Encyclopedic overview

8 sections
Contents
  • Life
  • Medicine
  • Association with Herophilus and Galen
  • Downfall and loss of influence after death
  • Discovery of information regarding the Alexandrian physicians
  • Notes
  • References
  • Further reading

Erasistratus (; ; c. 304 – c. 250 BC) 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. As well, he is credited with helping to found the methodic school of teachings of medicine in Alexandria whilst opposing traditional humoral theories of Hippocratic ideologies. Together with Herophilus, he is credited by historians as the potential founder of neuroscience due to his acknowledgements of nerves and their roles in motor control through the brain and skeletal muscles.

Furthermore, Erasistratus is seen as one of the first physicians/scientists to conduct recorded dissections and potential vivisections alongside Herophilus. The two physicians were said by several Roman authors, notably Augustine, Celsus, and Tertullian, to have performed controversial vivisections on criminals to study the anatomy and possible physiology of human organs while they were in Alexandria. Because of their research, Erasistratus and Herophilus were heavily criticized for their utilization of vivisections; specifically, by the author Tertullian who followed Christian values. Erasistratus and Herophilus are thought to be the only physicians to perform systematic dissections on the human body until the Renaissance.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Erasistratus” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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