Physician; b. c. 335 BC (Chalcedon, Bithynia), d. c. 280 BC
Although Herophilus' years of birth and death are approximately known, our knowledge about his life is restricted to his time in Alexandria. He was director of a medical school and one of the first to use the dissection of human corpses for anatomical studies shortly after Alexandria was founded.
Among Herophilus' interests was the detailed description of the brain, which he regarded as the centre of the nervous system and therefore as more important than the heart, in contrast to contemporary teaching. Several medical terms introduced by him for various parts of the skull, brain and nervous system are still used today.
Other parts of the human anatomy studied and described in great detail by Herophilus are the eye, liver, pancreas and the male and female genital organs. He was the first Greek physician to measure the pulse, using a water clock.
Among Herophilus' works was a commentary on Hippocrates, a handbook for midwives and a treatise on anatomy. They were held in the Library of Alexandria and lost when the Library was destroyed in 272 AD.