Erasistratus of Chios And His Major Discoveries Part 2
Sadly, the destruction of the Library of Alexandria resulted in several writings by Erasistratus being destroyed. Most of the work we know today was referenced by Galen. Erasistratus, along with his fellow Herophilus, were among the few to perform dissections regularly until the Renaissance Era.
It is due to this that they were able to fully describe the valves of the heart. They agreed with Hippocrates and others that the heart was not the center of sensations. Rather, Erasistratus claimed the human heart operated as a functioning pump for the body. This is basically true, and we know that today. Yet imagine how hard it was to confirm something like this in the late B.C. era, without all the medical tools, equipment, and technology we have today.