As far as we know, anatomy is the oldest medical science. Cave paintings of the early Stone Age, about 30,000 years ago,* show a simple knowledge of the anatomy of animals, and it is assumed that these cave dwellers applied some of their anatomical knowledge to their own bodies. The civilizations of the Babylonians, as Syrians, Egyptians, Chinese, and Hindus made no serious attempt to learn anatomy because they were interested in the supernatural world, not the natural one, and their cultures placed strong religious restrictions against debasing the body. Any anatomical dissections that were performed on animals were made to "study" organs in an effort to predict the future and to tell fortunes.
*The Stone Age, the earliest known period of human culture, is characterized by the use of small stone tools.
Anatomy in Ancient Greece
The systematic study of anatomy may have begun in the fifth century B.C ., with the work of two Greek scientists, Alcmaeon (ca. 500 B.C.) in Italy andEmpedocles (ca. 490-430 B.C) in Sicily, where Greek culture and science flourished. Alcmaeon was probably the first person to dissect the human body for research purposes, and he is also given credit for proposing that the brain is the center of intelligence. Empedocles, who believed that the heart distributed life-giving heat to the body, initiated the idea that an ethereal substance called pneuma, which was both life and soul, flowed through the blood vessels. Although such early anatomists were often incorrect, their work was essential to the development of later scientists.
Anatomical inferences without dissection continued in Greece with Hippocrates (ca. 460-377 B.C ), who is known as the Father of Medicine. (Many medical students still take the Hippocratic Oath upon graduation from medical school.) He might also be called the Father of Holistic Medicine, since he advocated the