Praxagoras of Cos on Arteries, Pulse and Pneuma

Download or read book Praxagoras of Cos on Arteries, Pulse and Pneuma written by Orly Lewis and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2017-02-06 with total page 391 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The distinction that Praxagoras of Cos (4th-3rd c. BC) made between arteries and veins and his views on pulsation and pneuma are two significant turning points in the history of ideas and medicine. In this book Orly Lewis presents the fragmentary evidence for this topic and offers a fresh analysis of Praxagoras’ views on the soul and the functions of the heart and pneuma. In so doing, she highlights the empirical basis of Praxagoras’ views and his engagement with earlier medical debates and with Aristotle’s physiology. The study consists of an edition and translation of the relevant fragments (some absent from the standard 1958 edition) followed by a commentary and a synthetic analysis of Praxagoras’ views and their place in the history of medicine and ideas. The book has been awarded the Young Historian Prize of the Académie Internationale d’Histoire de Sciences (2019).