Hellenistic Science, Medicine, and Inventions

Vocabulary flashcards covering the foundation of Alexandria, ancient Greek and Egyptian medicine, and classical scientific discoveries.

Alexandria

A city founded on the Mediterranean coast along a branch of the Nile Delta, built by Ptolemy, which became a leading intellectual and research center in the Hellenistic world.

Ptolemy

One of Alexander's generals who built the city of Alexandria, took Alexander's body, and became pharaoh of Egypt after Alexander's death.

Library of Alexandria

A leading Mediterranean research center containing approximately $400{,}000$ scrolls at its height, which copied Athenian plays and was burned to the ground by Christians in the fourth century.

Heraclitus

A physician cited as the first Greek physician to perform scientific dissection on cadavers.

Vivisection

A surgical procedure performed by the Egyptians in which convicted criminals had body parts cut off while still alive.

Arisotronics

The figure associated in the lecture with distinguishing the difference between arteries and veins.

Galen

A Greek physician whose influence over Western medicine lasted until the eighteenth century and who based medical knowledge on the four humors.

Four Humors

The bodily fluids consisting of blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile, which determined personality and caused illness when out of balance.

Bleeding

A medical practice designed to bring bodily humors back into balance by releasing bad fluids, which contributed to the death of George Washington.

Principle of Displacement

A principle discovered when tasked with calculating the mass of an irregularly shaped object.

Archimedes Screw

A mechanical invention that serves as the design foundation for modern wood screws and propellers.