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Chapter Summary
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Chapter 1:
History of Anatomy
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Definition of the Science (p. 2)
- Human anatomy is the science concerned with the structure of the human body.
- The terms of anatomy are descriptive and are generally of Greek or Latin derivation.
- The history of human anatomy parallels that of medicine and has also been greatly influenced by various religions.
Prescientific Period (pp. 2–4)
- Prehistoric interest in anatomy was undoubtedly limited to practical information necessary for survival.
- Trepanation was a surgical technique that was practiced by several cultures.
- Paleopathology is the science concerned with diseases of prehistoric people.
Scientific Period (pp. 5–19)
- A few anatomical descriptions were inscribed in clay tablets in cuneiform
writing by people who lived in Mesopotamia in about 4000 B.C.
- Egyptians of about 3400 B.C. developed a technique of embalming. It was
not recorded, however, and therefore was not of value in furthering the study
of anatomy.
- The belief in a balance between yin and yang was a compelling influence in Chinese philosophy and provided the rationale for the practice of acupuncture.
- The advancement of anatomy in Japan was largely due to the influence of the Chinese and Dutch.
- Anatomy first found wide acceptance as a science in ancient Greece.
- Hippocrates is regarded as the father of medicine because of the sound principles of medical practice he established.
- The Greek philosophy of body humors dominated medical thought for over 2,000 years.
- Aristotle pursued a limited type of scientific method in obtaining data; his writings contain some basic anatomy.
- Alexandria was a center of scientific learning from 300 to 30 b.c.
- Human dissections and vivisections were performed in Alexandria.
- Erasistratus is referred to as the father of physiology because of his interpretations of various body functions.
- Theoretical data was deemphasized during the Roman era.
- Celsus’s eight-volume work was a compilation of medical data from the Alexandrian school.
- Galen was an influential medical writer who made some important advances in anatomy; at the same time he introduced serious errors into the literature that went unchallenged for centuries.
- Science was suppressed for nearly 1,000 years during the Middle Ages, and dissections of human cadavers were prohibited.
- Anatomical writings were taken from Alexandria by Arab armies, and thus saved from destruction during the Dark Ages in Europe.
- During the Renaissance, many great European universities were established.
- Andreas Vesalius and Leonardo da Vinci were renowned Renaissance men who produced monumental studies of the human form.
- De Humani Corporis Fabrica, written by Vesalius, had a tremendous impact on the advancement of human anatomy. Vesalius is regarded as the father of human anatomy.
- Two major scientific contributions of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were the explanation of blood flow and the development of the microscope.
- In 1628, William Harvey correctly described the circulation of blood.
- Shortly after the microscope had been perfected by Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, many investigators added new discoveries to the rapidly changing specialty of microscopic anatomy.
- 10The cell theory was formulated during the nineteenth century by Matthias Schleiden and Theodor Schwann, and cellular biology became established as a science separate from anatomy.
- A trend toward simplification and standardization of anatomical nomenclature began in the twentieth century. In addition, many specialties within anatomy developed, including cytology, histology, embryology, electron microscopy, and radiology.
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