Ежелгі грек анатомы және дәрігері Эрасистрат

Greek anatomist and royal physician

Erasistratus (,/ɛ//r//ə/'/s//ɪ//s//t//r//ə//t//ə//s/; ; c. 304 – c. 250 BC) was a Greek anatomist and royal physician under Seleucus I Nicator of Syria. Along with fellow physician Herophilus, he founded a school of anatomy in Alexandria, where they carried out anatomical research. As well, he is credited with helping to found the methodic school of teachings of medicine in Alexandria whilst opposing traditional humoral theories of Hippocratic ideologies. Furthermore, Erasistratus is seen as one of the first physicians/scientists to conduct recorded dissections and potential vivisections alongside Herophilus. The two physicians were said by several Roman authors, notably Augustine, Celsus, and Tertullian, to have performed controversial vivisections on criminals to study the anatomy and possible physiology of human organs while they were in Alexandria. Erasistratus and Herophilus are thought to be the only physicians to perform systematic dissections on the human body until the Renaissance.

Erasistratus is generally supposed to have been born at Ioulis on the island of Ceos, though Stephanus of Byzantium refers to him as a native of Cos; Galen, as a native of Chios; and the emperor Julian, as a native of Samos. Pliny says he was the grandson of Aristotle by his daughter Pythias, but this is not confirmed by any other ancient writer; and according to the Suda, he was the son of Cretoxena, the sister of the physician Medius, and Cleombrotus. From the latter it is not quite clear whether Cleombrotus was his father or his uncle. He was a pupil of Chrysippus of Cnidos, Metrodorus, and apparently Theophrastus. He lived for some time at the court of Seleucus I Nicator, where he acquired great reputation by discovering the disease of Antiochus I Soter, the king's eldest son, probably 294 BC. Seleucus in his old age had lately married Stratonice, the young and beautiful daughter of Demetrius Poliorcetes, and she had already borne him one child. Antiochus fell violently in love with his stepmother, but did not disclose his passion, and chose rather to pine away in silence. The physicians were quite unable to discover the cause and nature of his disease, and Erasistratus himself was at a loss at first, till, finding nothing amiss about his body, he began to suspect that it must be his mind which was diseased, and that he might perhaps be in love. Erasistratus confirmed his conjecture when he observed that the skin of Antiochus grew hotter, his colour deeper, and his pulse quicker whenever Stratonice came near him, while none of these symptoms occurred on any other occasion. Accordingly, he told Seleucus that his son's disease was incurable, for he was in love, and that it was impossible to gratify his passion. The king wondered what the obstacle could be, and asked who the lady was. "My wife," replied Erasistratus; upon which Seleucus began to persuade him to give her up to his son. The physician asked him if he would do so himself if it were his wife that the prince was in love with. The king protested that he would most gladly; upon which Erasistratus told him that it was indeed his own wife who had inspired his passion, and that he chose rather to die than to disclose his secret. Seleucus was as good as his word, and not only gave up Stratonice, but also resigned to his son several provinces of his empire. This celebrated story is told with variations by many ancient authors, and a similar anecdote has been told of Hippocrates, Galen, Avicenna, and (if the names be not fictitious) Panacius and Acestinus. If this is the anecdote referred to by Pliny, as is probably the case, Erasistratus is said to have received one hundred talents for being the means of restoring the prince to health, which would amount to one of the largest medical fees upon record. Very little more is known of the personal history of Erasistratus: he lived for some time at Alexandria, which was at that time beginning to be a celebrated medical school, and gave up practice in his old age, that he might pursue his anatomical studies without interruption. He and fellow physician Herophilus practiced anatomy with great success, and with such ardour that they are supposed to have dissected criminals alive. These criminals were supposedly supplied by the king at the request of Herophilus. The following are the names of the most celebrated physicians belonging to the sect founded by him: Apoemantes, Apollonius Memphites, Apollophanes Artemidoras, Charidemus, Chrysippus, Heraclides of Smyrna, Hermogenes, Hicesius, Martialius, Menodorus, Ptolemaeus, Strato, Xenophon. An attack on Erasistratus and his followers is preserved in Anonymus Londinensis.

By the time both Erasistratus and Herophilus had died, the empiricist school of medicine in Alexandria reigned as the most widely accepted ideology and method for practicing medicine for several centuries. One notable event that historians credit to downfall of Erasistratus's ideas and influence was that of the Syrian War that occurred from 246–241 BC due to its negative effect on the Alexandrian society, reducing its ability to fund programs that would continue the teachings of Erasistratus. Although, even before the Syrian War devastated the culture and economy of the Alexandrian society, Ptolemy Malefactor in 145 BC negatively impacted the continuation of Erasistratus's teachings and ideas, as well as other Alexandrian teachings, as he pushed for Alexandrian intelligentsia to be removed from the Alexandrian society completely. Ultimately, the destruction of many works, including that of Erasistratus and Herophilus, because of a fire that erupted at the great library in 391 AD may have been the greatest reason why there are limited sources of material to understand the teachings and work of Erasistratus outside that of the references to the Alexandrian physician from Galen's writings. Furthermore, it may also be the event that resulted in none of Erasistratus's original writing remaining.

Much of the documentation of the works of Erasistratus and Herophilus was undiscovered until the late 20th century, so the importance of Erasistratus in the advancement of medical knowledge was not fully understood. The only substantial collection of information about their work was several fragments of their writings assembled by K. F. H. Marx and R. Fuchs from German texts. Before that, nearly the only way to learn about the work was by analyzing Galen's works, which mention Erasistratus. Similar sets of fragmented texts were also collected in English by J. F. Dobson. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, H. von Staden and Garofalo also found many important sources of information on the Alexandrian physicians.