Flashcards on History of Anatomy: Ancient Civilizations
History of Anatomy: Ancient Civilizations | Student Guide
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History of Anatomy
53 cards
Card 1
Question: Who is considered the earliest known person to pursue actual anatomical studies and around when did he live?
Answer: Alcmaeon of Croton, around 500 BCE.
Card 2
Question: What was Alcmaeon of Croton’s main purpose when dissecting animals?
Answer: He dissected animals with the sole intent of understanding their anatomy.
Card 3
Question: Which anatomical structure did Alcmaeon of Croton first mention?
Answer: The pharyngotympanic tube.
Card 4
Question: What idea did Alcmaeon propose about how the senses connect to the brain?
Answer: He believed poroi (channels) connect the senses to the brain and described a poroi connecting the eyeball to the brain (optic nerve).
Card 5
Question: What distinction in blood vessels did Alcmaeon describe?
Answer: He described the difference between arteries and veins.
Card 6
Question: Who is known as the Father of Medicine and when was he born?
Answer: Hippocrates, born around 460 BCE.
Card 7
Question: What key change did Hippocrates bring to the practice of medicine?
Answer: He established the healing art as a science removed from superstition and magic.
Card 8
Question: What did Hippocrates believe should be the foundation of medicine?
Answer: Anatomy, which he thought could be learned from observation of wounds.
Card 9
Question: Summarize Hippocrates’ suggested treatments linking causes and cures.
Answer: Diseases caused by overeating are cured by fasting; diseases caused by indolence are cured by exertion; and tenseness is cured by relaxation.
Card 10
Question: On what basis did Aristotle build his knowledge of the human body?
Answer: External observations and speculative ideas obtained from dissecting animals.