Roman Law and the Banishment of Dissection
After the first dissections by Herophilus and Erisistratus, dissections of human bodies were banned by Roman law. The spread and reemergence of the Hippocratic method also led some to belief that not being permitted to "use the knife" meant dissections as well as surgeries. Some blame the disappearance of dissection on the rise of Christianity in Rome, while others blame it on the development of a cultural taboo of it. Either way, no recorded human dissections were carried out until the 13th century.
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I will not use the knife, not even on sufferers from stone, but will withdraw in favor of such men as are engaged in this work. - The Hippocratic Oath Christian doctrine promises the resurrection of the body, which many thought to be impossible if a body were anatomized. " -University of Pennsylvania Website As if the fire of human dissection was not already flickering, it was snuffed out completely with the burning of the library of Alexandria and the widespread introduction of Christianity, when it became impossible to dissect human bodies anywhere in the Hellenistic world. -Elizabeth Roberts Later, Roman law prohibited dissection and autopsy of the human body. No new dissection studies were done until the early 13th Century. -Anatomical Gift of Illinois Website We have seen that the great Galen, at Rome, five centuries after the time of Herophilus, was prohibited from dissecting the human subject. The fact speaks volumes for the attitude of the Roman mind towards science. -Theador Gomperz |