Introduction to Veterinary Anatomy and Physiology

**3**

**Chapter 1**

fact relatively limited [2].

Introductory Chapter: Veterinary

The anatomy of animals has long fascinated people, with mural paintings depicting the superficial anatomy of animals dating back to the Palaeolithic era [1]. However, evidence suggests that the earliest appearance of scientific anatomical study may have been in ancient Babylonia, although the tablets upon which this was recorded have perished and the remains indicate that Babylonian knowledge was in

As such, with early exploration of anatomy documented in the writing of various papyri, ancient Egyptian civilisation is believed to be the origin of the anatomist [3]. With content dating back to 3000 BCE, the Edwin Smith papyrus demonstrates a recognition of cerebrospinal fluid, meninges and surface anatomy of the brain, whilst the Ebers papyrus describes systemic function of the body including the heart and vasculature, gynaecology and tumours [4]. The Ebers papyrus dates back to around 1500 BCE; however, it is also thought to be based upon earlier texts. In the early third century, a school of anatomy was founded in Alexandria and became the first of its kind carrying out human dissection [5]. It was based on the Greek system, following Hippocratic teachings. Hippocrates (ca. 460–370 BCE) had described the human brain as being in two halves divided by a thin vertical membrane, as it was in other animals. The most renowned Alexandrian physicians were Herophilus and Erasistratus. Many graduates of

this medical school travelled and practiced throughout the Mediterranean basin.

Many renowned Greek anatomists studied in Alexandria, but as Egypt entered a slow decline, developments in Greek philosophical and scientific culture began to surpass all current knowledge of anatomy and physiology [4]. The early scientist Alcmaeon of Croton, a Greek medic is widely credited for attributing the mind to the brain in around 500 BCE [6]. He also observed that the arteries and veins in his animal dissections appeared dissimilar to each other [7]. Herophilus progressed these theories around the brain and identified the organ as the centre of the nervous system [8]. Herophilus was born in 335 BCE, studied in Alexandria and remained there during the reigns of the first two Ptolemaios Pharaohs and is said to be the first anatomist to perform a systematic dissection of the human body. Erasistratus concentrated on physiology and mechanisms rather than the pure anatomy. This was not always a popular method of describing the body during either his life or later on. Roman Marcus Aurelius (161–180 CE) highlighted that physicians were more likely to maim or kill their patients they were not aware of the anatomy required. He was famous for his mission to understand anatomy and physiology in a range of animals extending from monkeys and snakes to cattle and cats, in both adults and young. He even noted the similarities between macaques and humans. Ultimately it was the Greek Aristotle who became known as the father of comparative anatomy

Anatomy and Physiology

*Valentina Kubale, Emma Cousins, Clara Bailey,* 

*Samir A.A. El-Gendy and Catrin Sian Rutland*

**1. History of veterinary anatomy and physiology**
