Erasistratus was a physician of the Alexandrian era (c.305 BC – c.240 BC), who, together with Herophilus founded the School of Anatomy of Alexandria. A pioneer in observing and describing the human anatomy and its pathology, Erasistratus’ multiple groundbreaking discoveries in many different fields of medicine as well as his methods of diagnosis and treatment of human diseases secured him a position next to Hippocrates as one of the greatest physicians in the history of medicine.

Erasistratus worked in many places throughout the Greek world, most notably in Syria, where he served as the physician of Emperor Seleucos I Nicator. Undoubtedly his most prolific years, however, were in Alexandria, Egypt, where he worked in the School of Anatomy in the Museum of Alexandria. There he taught anatomy, performed some of the first public anatomic dissections together with Herophilus and made numerous revolutionary discoveries in anatomy.