Anatomy and physiology represent a conjoint set of contested epistemologies. Aristotle laid the groundwork for anatomical science, enabling the ground-breaking work of the Hellenistic Alexandrian physicians Herophilus in anatomy and Erasistratus in physiology. Both capitalized on the unique opportunities for scientific research provided by the early Ptolemaic Dynasty which permitted human dissection and vivisection. Their passing marked the end of these practices. Anatomical knowledge from the Hellenistic period, subject to increasing exegesis and commentary, also had to cope with sustained attacks on its epistemic validity from certain medical sects. The second century CE witnessed a revival of, and increase in, anatomical knowledge, culminating in the prodigious and authoritative contributions by Galen. Ironically, Galen's dominance of the field meant that, after his death, anatomy and physiology became codified, ossifying epistemologies, which were virtually unchallenged until the Renaissance.
...MoreBook Georgia L. Irby-Massie (2016) A Companion to Science, Technology, and Medicine in Ancient Greece and Rome.
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