A Brief History of Anatomy and Physiology
 | How long have humans been studying the human body? |
| Anatomy is the study of the structure of body parts and their relationships |
| Physiology is the study of the function of body parts and how they work together |
| Function relates to form and vice versa. To understand function, it is necessary to understand form. To understand form, it is necessary to understand function. |
| Hippocrates : wrote of the larger viscera in ~5th BC. He is regarded as the "Father of Medicine." In terms of anatomy, he didn't elaborate on knowledge found in Egyptian texts (circa 1600 BC). However, within the Hippocratic Collection, he wrote that diseases were not necessarily of divine origin, but discusses environmental causes, such as drinking water or weather (Airs, Waters, and Places). He also pushed the idea that a disease can be "tracked" by observing enough cases. Preventative medicine was discussed in Regimen and Regimen in Acute Diseases; diet is stressed as is general living style. |
| Aristotle : 4th century BC. Increased animal anatomical knowledge through dissection. |
| Herophilus : along with Erasistratus, made the first real progress in human anatomy in the 3rd century BC. These physicians were the first to dissect human cadavers and distinguish the functions of the nervous and muscular system. He is the first to describe the alimentary canal and named the duodenum. He also is the first to distinguish between sensory and motor nerves, and also is the founder of the first anatomy school. |
| Galen : in the 2nd century AD, was the most influential physician of the ancient world after Hippocrates. Unfortunately, most all of his dissections were animal (goats, pigs, monkeys), but he was able to show how different muscles are controlled by different levels of the spinal cord. He also recorded functions of the kidneys and bladder and noted seven (of 12) pairs of cranial nerves. He showed the arteries carried blood, not air; showed valves in the heart and observed difference in arteries and veins. His works were used as the anatomy text for the next several centuries. |
| until the Renaissance, virtually no new information was added to the studies of anatomy and physiology. |
| Mondino de Luzzi : in 1315, conducted the first public dissection of a human body. Anatomia is the first manual based on a practical dissection. |
| Paracelsus : tried to assert that diseases are caused by external agents and that they could be treated with chemical agents. He identified the symptoms of numerous diseases, including goiter and syphilis. Called the "Father of Homeopathy" due to his belief that "like cures like." |
| Andreas Vesalius : had De Corporis Humani Fabrica published in 1543. Defying Church opposition to human dissection, he worked with Titian and a pupil to develop the first detailed book on human anatomy. He denigrated Galen's work, as it was "only" based on animal dissections. |
| Realdo Columbus : a student of Vesalius. He noted the septum dividing the ventricles of the heart; pulmonary circulation is also discussed in his works. However, he still believes the liver is the center of the venous system and creates blood. |
| William Harvey : marks the beginning of modern physiology with the discovery that blood circulates (in 1616). He studied the motions of the heart and blood in a variety of animals and came to the conclusion that the heart pumps the blood in a circular course. Because he had no microscope in his studies, the only point missing from his Anatomical Essay on the Motion of the Heart and Blood in Animals was the role of capillaries, though he proposed their existence. |
| Marcello Malpighi : discovered the role of pulmonary capillaries, completing the work of Harvey. Discovered red corpuscles as well as taste buds. He also made many observations of the microscopic anatomy of the liver, brain, kidneys, spleen, bone and the inner ("Malpighian") layer of skin. |
| after the works of Harvey and Malpighi, the world saw a virtual explosion of discoveries in anatomy and physiology. |
| Giovanni Alfonso Borelli : studied animal motion. He first hypothesized that muscle contraction had its basis in muscle fibers. |
| Thomas Wharton : demonstrated salivary secretion, as did Nicolaus Steno. |
| Jean Baptiste Denis : in the late 1600s gave a human the first successful blood transfusion. |
| Giovanni Morgagni : in 1760, at the age of 78, wrote On the Seats and Causes of Disease. He introduces the idea of a medical history -- the life history of the patient, the history of his disease, events connected with the final illness and the manner of death. Morgagni establishes pathological anatomy as a branch of anatomy. |
| George Cuvier : founds comparative anatomy with the 1798 publication of his Tableau Elementaire de L'histoire Naturelle. |
| the late 18th and early 19th centuries saw a shortage of bodies due to new legislation in England and the U.S. "Body snatching" begins. |
| Microtomy is developed in the 19th century, which expands knowledge of microscopic anatomy |
| Claude Bernard : the principle figure in 19th century physiology. Among other things, he studied carbohydrate metabolism and the autonomic nervous system. His most important contribution was the idea that living things are in a stable internal state, called homeostasis by Walter Cannon. Bernard believed that the basis of an organism's health was the ability to maintain homeostasis. Cannon showed the body's ability to adjust to attempt to remain in homeostasis. Bernard is regarded as the founder of experimental physiology for his work in discovering the role of the liver in glycogen production and the role of the pancreas. |
| Henry Gray : publishes Anatomy of the Human Body, Descriptive and Surgical in 1858. This will become the definitive text for the next century. |
| Camillo Golgi : shared the 1906 Nobel Prize with Santiago Ramon y Cajal for their work on the structure of the nervous system. As the first to use silver nitrate as a stain, he was able to point out nerve cell processes. |
| Golgi and Ramon y Cajal ushered in the age of the brain (nervous system). Many influential scientists followed suit, and there were many more discoveries during the late 1800s. |
| The late 19th century and early 20th century saw an increased interest in immunology, as bacteriology also increased in scope. |
| Ivan Pavlov : while he did pioneering studies of heart, nervous system and digestive system physiology, he is most known for his work on reflex reactions. He won the 1904 Nobel Prize for his study of the digestive glands. |
| Charles Best : helped to isolate insulin for the treatment of diabetes. He worked with Frederick Banting to extract the insulin from pancreatic tissues. Banting received the Nobel Prize for this work, along with John James Macleod, who really only provided lab space. Best was snubbed by the Nobel Prize committee, but Banting shared his part of the prize. Best was also responsible during WWII for starting a Canadian program of procuring and using dried human blood serum. |
| Karl Landsteiner : was awarded the 1930 Nobel Prize for his work in developing the four primary blood types (or the classification thereof). |
| Edward Kendall : did extensive research in endocrinology. His observations led to the discovery (and subsequent isolation) of thyroxine and cortisone, among other hormones. The discovery of cortisone led to a Nobel Prize in 1950. He shared the prize with Philip Hench and Tadeus Reichstein. |
