Herophilos, the father of modern science: a brief biographyIn ancient Greece, in 335 BCE, a child was born in Chalcedon. This child would one day become one of the most influential parts of modern science and medicine as we know it. The little boy's name was Herophilos. Not much is known about Herophilos except that he left Chalcedon (now Turkey) and settled in Alexandria early in his life (1). After completing his studies, Herophilos became a teacher and author (1). There are nine known texts he is responsible for, including his book “On Pulses,” which explains the flow of blood from the heart to the arteries (1). He also wrote a book that educates readers about the stages of childbirth, titled “Midwifery” (1). Herophilos was a pioneer in many different branches of medicine. Herophilos' accomplishments included a detailed description of the brain, which allowed him to prove that the brain was the engine of human intellect (134). Herophilos got his start in autopsies, but not before studying under Praxagoras (1). In many parts of the world, it was illegal for anyone to dissect a body. Herophilos remained in Alexandria because it was legal for him to perform dissections. Herophilos began to become very comfortable with the practice of these dissections, doing them in public and explaining what he was doing (1) . It is believed that Herophilos founded a medical school in Alexandria and took on an apprentice, Erasistratus (1). Herophile, however, encountered some problems in his practice of medical sciences. Herophilos is said to have performed vivisections on living criminals (1). He used this practice to examine the functioning of the body's organs while the person was alive, all without anesthesia (1). Herophilos u...... middle of paper ......rn Civilization Volume I (Seventeenth Edition) New York, NY: Norton& CO. 2011, page 134Wills, Adrian. “Herophilus, Erasistratus and the birth of neuroscience.” Lancet 354.9191 (1999): 1719-1720. Premier Academic Research. EBSCO. Internet. October 18, 2011 Khan, Ijaz A., Samantapudi K. Daya and Ramesh M. Gowda. “Evolution of circulation theory.” International Journal of Cardiology 98.3 (2005): 519-521. Premier Academic Research. EBSCO. Internet. October 18, 2011Gillispie, CC (2008). Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Detroit, Michigan: Charles Scribner's Sons.Herophilus." Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th edition (2010): 1.Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. October 18, 2011 "Herophilus." Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2005. Retrieved December 6, 2011 2011 on Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3446400094.html