Dissection
Human dissections were carried out by the Greek physicians Herophilus of Chalcedon and Erasistratus of Chios in the early part of the third century BC. During this period, the first exploration into full human anatomy was performed rather than a base knowledge gained from 'problem-solution' delving. While there was a deep taboo in Greek culture concerning human dissection, there was at the time a strong push by the Ptolemaic government to build Alexandria into a hub of scientific study. For a time, Roman law forbade dissection and autopsy of the human body, so physicians had to use other cadavers. Galen, for example, dissected the Barbary macaque and other primates, assuming their anatomy was basically the same as that of humans.
John Cutting Berry
On the request of Kanda Takahira, the governor of Hyōgo prefecture, Berry also took charge of Kobe Hospital and undertook other medical activities in Kobe, Himeji, Akashi, Kakogawa, Arima, and Sanda. Berry typically examined between 500 and 700 patients a month and instructed other local doctors on the side. In January 1873, Berry conducted the first human dissection in the prefecture at Kobe Hospital, before an audience of 750 doctors and medical students.