260 HUMAN DISSECTION. ITS DRAMA AND STRUGGLE 



of severely injured or diseased humans or animals killed for 

 sacrifice or food. 



Before the great Alexandrian period of anatomy, which be- 

 gan about 300 B.C., mankind probably gave more thought to the 

 possible location of the soul in the human body, than to any- 

 thing else. The Edwin Smith Scrolls of 1600 B.C., and the Eber's 

 Papyrus of 1550 B.C. mention certain bones, the heart and brain. 

 Referring to the pulse, the latter stated that the pulse revealed 

 that "the heart speaks in all the limbs." The soul was localized, 

 at one time or another, beginning about 2300 B.C., in the fol- 

 lowing: heart, bowels, liver, diaphragm, blood, brain, head, chest, 

 meninges and the whole body. 



In the process of mummifying bodies, the Egyptians accu- 

 mulated over 100 anatomical terms in the language which then 

 prevailed; many of them were words based on mythology because 

 every organ represented one of their gods. 



The ancient Hindu text of medicine the Susruta, listed 300 

 bones, 90 tendons, 210 joints, 500 muscles, 70 blood vessels, 3 

 humors, 3 secretions and 9 sense organs as being present in the 

 human body. 



In general, it can be said that the period between 1000 and 

 300 B.C. was devoid of any actual human dissection for the sole 

 purpose of studying man's structure. During this period, no 

 qualms were felt about killing a man or satisfying vengeance on 

 the body of an enemy after death but woe unto him who cut up 

 a corpse for scientific purposes. Anatomy was a mixture of mystery, 

 imagination and a few facts learned in everyday life. Magic con- 

 tinued to play an important part in the religious and common- 

 place life of the people and this applied to the dead as well as the 

 living. 



The first unequivocal human dissections were made at the 

 Alexandrian school by Herophilus and Erasistratus, two trans- 

 planted Greeks. For the first time in the history of man, per- 

 mission was given by governmental decree, to dissect privately 

 or publicly. In all, Herophilus, working under ideal conditions, 

 at Alexandria, may have anatomized from 200 to 600 human 



