<P> In 1600 BCE, the Edwin Smith Papyrus, an Ancient Egyptian medical text, described the heart, its vessels, liver, spleen, kidneys, hypothalamus, uterus and bladder, and showed the blood vessels diverging from the heart . The Ebers Papyrus (c. 1550 BCE) features a "treatise on the heart", with vessels carrying all the body's fluids to or from every member of the body . </P> <P> Ancient Greek anatomy and physiology underwent great changes and advances throughout the early medieval world . Over time, this medical practice expanded by a continually developing understanding of the functions of organs and structures in the body . Phenomenal anatomical observations of the human body were made, which have contributed towards the understanding of the brain, eye, liver, reproductive organs and the nervous system . </P> <P> The Hellenistic Egyptian city of Alexandria was the stepping - stone for Greek anatomy and physiology . Alexandria not only housed the biggest library for medical records and books of the liberal arts in the world during the time of the Greeks, but was also home to many medical practitioners and philosophers . Great patronage of the arts and sciences from the Ptolemy rulers helped raise Alexandria up, further rivalling the cultural and scientific achievements of other Greek states . </P> <P> Some of the most striking advances in early anatomy and physiology took place in Hellenistic Alexandria . Two of the most famous anatomists and physiologists of the third century were Herophilus and Erasistratus . These two physicians helped pioneer human dissection for medical research . They also conducted vivisections on the cadavers of condemned criminals, which was considered taboo until the Renaissance--Herophilus was recognized as the first person to perform systematic dissections . Herophilus became known for his anatomical works making impressing contributions to many branches of anatomy and many other aspects of medicine . Some of the works included classifying the system of the pulse, the discovery that human arteries had thicker walls then veins, and that the atria were parts of the heart . Herophilus's knowledge of the human body has provided vital input towards understanding the brain, eye, liver, reproductive organs and nervous system, and characterizing the course of disease . Erasistratus accurately described the structure of the brain, including the cavities and membranes, and made a distinction between its cerebrum and cerebellum During his study in Alexandria, Erasistratus was particularly concerned with studies of the circulatory and nervous systems . He was able to distinguish the sensory and the motor nerves in the human body and believed that air entered the lungs and heart, which was then carried throughout the body . His distinction between the arteries and veins--the arteries carrying the air through the body, while the veins carried the blood from the heart was a great anatomical discovery . Erasistratus was also responsible for naming and describing the function of the epiglottis and the valves of the heart, including the tricuspid . During the third century, Greek physicians were able to differentiate nerves from blood vessels and tendons and to realize that the nerves convey neural impulses . It was Herophilus who made the point that damage to motor nerves induced paralysis . Herophilus named the meninges and ventricles in the brain, appreciated the division between cerebellum and cerebrum and recognized that the brain was the "seat of intellect" and not a "cooling chamber" as propounded by Aristotle Herophilus is also credited with describing the optic, oculomotor, motor division of the trigeminal, facial, vestibulocochlear and hypoglossal nerves . </P>

The scientific study of the anatomy structure and functions of bones is called