Erasistratus

The pineal: seat of the soul

April 20, 2022

JMS Pearce Hull, England, United Kingdom Fig 1. Pineal gland The pineal for millennia had been a structure of mystery. In Ancient Egyptian culture, The Eye of Horus was a sign of prosperity and protection, often referred to as the third eye. In Ayurvedic physiology it corresponds to the sixth chakra—Ajna, located in the […]

The Red Cross and hematology pioneers

January 22, 2020

Barnabas Pastory Dar es Salaam, Tanzania The Red Cross and the Red Crescent emblems at the museum in Geneva. Photo by Julius.kusuma on Wikimedia. CC BY-SA 3.0. Providing medical care to suffering humankind constitutes an important part of the Red Cross’ service scope. History records an important connection between the Red Cross and pioneers […]

October 12, 2018

Erasistratus (304–250 BC) founded a school of anatomy in Alexandria, where he described the valves of the heart; concluded that the heart functioned as a pump; and distinguished between arteries and veins. He believed that the arteries were full of air and that they carried the “animal spirit”; appears to have almost discovered the circulation of the blood; and carried […]

Lovesickness in art and medicine

January 23, 2017

Frank Gonzalez-Crussi Chicago, Illinois, United States Figure 1 The lovesick: Antiochus and Stratonice, 1641–1642 Pietro da Cortona Fresco Sala di Venere, Palazzo Pitti, Florence, Italy Have you ever suffered the pangs of romantic passion? Count yourself lucky if you have not, for studies show that this feeling may thrive in any world culture.1 The […]

Neuroanatomy: a transition in understanding and observation

January 22, 2017

Charlene Ong St.Louis, Missouri, United States Western medicine’s understanding of neuroanatomy over the last several millennia has reflected the dynamic cultural values and social norms regarding the human body and its function. The journey that culminated in accurate and reproducible representations of the brain required a tolerance of human inquiry, advances in preservation technology, […]