Place he lived and work:
Herophilus was born in Chalcedon, Asia Minor. Herophilus studied medicin eunder Praxagoras of Cos and then at Alexandria, where he later taught and practiced medicine. Little is known about his life; the date and place of his death havebeen completely lost, as have all his writings.
Inventions, work, achievements and accomplishments:
Alexandrian physician who was an early performer of public dissections on human cadavers; and often called the father of anatomy.
In Alexandria, Herophilus had the unique opportunity to practice human dissection, a research technique not allowed elsewhere. Herophilus even performed public dissections. His work was highly regarded, and the medical school he founded at Alexandria attracted scores of students.
As a member of the well-known scholastic community in the newly founded city of Alexandria during the single, brief period in Greek medical historywhen the ban on human dissection was lifted, Herophilus studied the ventricles (cavities) of the brain, the organ he regarded as the centre of the nervous system; traced the sinuses of the dura mater (the tough membrane covering the brain) to their junction, known as the torcular Herophili; and classified the nerve trunks—distinguishing them from tendons and blood vessels—as motor or sensory.
Herophilus made many anatomical studies of the brain. He distinguished the cerebrum (larger portion) from the cerebellum (smaller portion),pronounced the brain to be the seat of intelligence, and identified several structures of the brain, several of which still carry his name. He discoveredthat the nerves originate in the brain, was the first to distinguish nerves from tendons, and noted the difference between motor nerves (those concerned with motion) and sensory nerves (those related to sensation). Hetraced the optic nerve and described the retina. He studied the liver extensively and described and named the duodenum, the first part of the small intestine.
He rendered careful accounts of the eye, liver, salivary glands, pancreas, and genital organs of both sexes. He described and named the duodenum, at the lower end of the stomach, and the prostate gland. A student of Hippocrates’ doctrine of medicine, which was based on balancing the four humours (body fluids)—blood, phlegm, yellow bile (choler), and black bile (melancholy)—Herophilus emphasized the curative powers of drugs, dietetics, and gymnastics. He was first to measure the pulse, for which he used a water clock.
Drawing a distinction between arteries and veins, Herophilus noted the arterial pulse and developed standards for its measurement and use in diagnosis. He thought that arterial pulsation was involuntary, rising from dilation and contraction of arteries due to impulses sent from the heart. He corrected the idea that arteries carry air rather than blood. Herophilus also wrote a treatise on midwifery and accurately described the ovaries, the uterus, and the tubes leading from the ovaries to the uterus (later named the Fallopian tubes).In the field of medical treatment, Herophilus sensibly recommended good diet and exercise, but was also an enthusiastic advocate of bleeding and frequent drug therapy.
Herophilus wrote at least nine works, including a commentary on Hippocrates, a book for midwives, and treatises on anatomy and the causes of sudden death, all lost in the destruction of the library of Alexandria (ad 272).
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