fl. fourth century B.C.

Greek Physician

Praxagoras was born on the island of Cos about 340 B.C. His father, Nicarchus, and his grandfather were physicians. Very little is known of his personal life, and none of his writings have survived. Between the death of Hippocrates in 375 B.C. and the founding of the school at Alexandria, Egypt, Greek medicine became entrenched in speculation with little advance in knowledge. During this period four men took up the study of anatomy: Diocles of Carystus (fl. fourth cent. B.C.), Herophilus (c. 335-280 B.C.), Erasistratus (c. 304-250 B.C.), and Praxagoras.

Galen (A.D. 129-216), the famous Greek physician, wrote of Praxagoras as an influential figure in the history of medicine and a member of the logical or dogmatic school. Galen also probably knew of the works of Praxagoras, which were extensive. He wrote on...