Galen, known as Galenus in Latin, was a famous physician, philosopher, and writer. He is mainly known, however, for his contributions to the medical field. Born in Anatolia (modern Turkey) in 129 CE, Galen was able to amass the knowledge he had of medicine from the Middle East, which was the center of medicine at the time. After about a decade of learning and training, the young man tended to a troop of gladiators as a chief physician.
In 162, Galen decided to move to Rome. He couldn't help but make a name for himself through his anatomy demonstrations, successful treatments, and his skill in public debate. He was known particularly for the advocacy of dissection. A new idea, Galen encouraged his peers to dissect different animals in order to understand physiological processes better and to practice surgical skills. While the idea of dissecting cadavers was not widely accepted, dissection by other means allowed Galen to identify several complex human structures such as nerves, arteries, and veins. In addition, he was one of the first doctors to relate one’s physical health to their diet, as he found that his gladiators who ate certain foods performed better than those who ate other foods.
Although his many achievements were extremely helpful to society, Galen was not well-liked by other Roman physicians. This is because of the fact that he simply set a higher standard for healthcare in Rome that made the other doctor look foolish. Because of the stigma surrounding him, Galen decided to move back to his birthplace of Pergamon in 166. However, he was personally called back to Rome 3 years later at the request of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, and he ended up serving the emperors after him.
Galen was famous for the ideas he drew from very limited resources, but his work, in actuality, was quite flawed. Since Galen relied on animal dissection, his ideas of human anatomy were taken from various animals, which were mostly inaccurate. While Galen is revered for his contributions to the medical field, it’s less about the information, but rather about the profound conclusions he made based on the little information at his fingertips.
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