User:The1CREW

Galen of Pergamum was a famous Roman physician and philosopher of Greek origin, and probably the most accomplished medical researcher of the Roman period. His theories dominated and influenced European medical science for well over a millennium. His account of medical anatomy was based on monkeys as human dissection was not permitted in his time, but it was not improved on, until the printed description and illustrations of human dissections by Andreas Vesalius in 1543. Galen's account of the activities of the heart, arteries and veins were thought completely correct until William Harvey established that the blood circulates with the heart acting as a pump in 1628. In the 19th century, student physicians would still read Galen to learn some concepts. Galen developed many nerve ligation experiments that supported the theory, which is still believed today, that the brain controls all the motions of the muscles by means of the cranial and peripheral nervous systems. Early life Galen was born in the ancient Greek city of Pergamum, in 129 AD and died in 200 AD, now roughly Turkey, which was part of the Roman Empire. Life in Pergamum He describes his early life in "On the affections of the mind". At that time Pergamon was a major cultural and intellectual centre, noted for its library (Eumenes II), second only to that in Alexandria and attracted both Stoic (the school of philosophy founded by Zeno, who taught that people should be free from passion, unmoved by joy or grief, and submit without complaint to unavoidable necessity.) and Platonic (the philosophy in which it is believed that nothing is changeable because it is eternal, it’s actually much more complicated than this, but also very difficult to understand) philosophers, to whom Galen was exposed at age 14. His studies also took in each of the principal philosophical systems of the time, including Aristotelian (a philosophy developed by Aristotle’s theories, developing Platonic theories) and Epicurean (the philosophy where seeking modest pleasures was the way to a better life). His father had planned a traditional career for Galen in philosophy or politics and took care to expose him to literary and philosophical influences. However Galen states that in around 144, his father had a dream in which the God Asclepius (Aesculapius) appeared and commanded Nicon (his father) to send his son to study medicine. Again, no expense was spared, and following his earlier liberal education, at 16 he began studies. First voyage In 148, when he was 19, his father died, leaving him independently wealthy. He then followed the advice he found in Hippocrates' teaching and travelled and studied and finally the great medical school of Alexandria, exposing himself to the various schools of thought in medicine. In 157, aged 28, he returned to Pergamon as physician to the gladiators of the High Priest of Asia, one of the most influential and wealthiest men in Asia. Over the four years there he learnt the importance of diet, fitness, hygiene and preventive measures, as well as living anatomy, and the treatment of fractures and severe trauma, referring to their wounds as "windows into the body". Only five deaths occurred while he held the post, compared to sixty in his predecessor's time, generally ascribed to his attention to their wounds. At the same time he pursued studies in theoretical medicine and philosophy. Rome He then moved to Rome, probably because Pergamum was under political unrest or disturbance between the people. Bloodletting At first reluctantly, but then with increasing vigour, Galen promoted Hippocratic teaching including venesection (is the process of obtaining blood from a blood vessel), then unknown in Rome. This was sharply criticised by Erasistrateans, (followers of Erasistratus, who believed that that the heart was not the center of sensations, but instead it functioned as a pump. Erasistratus was among the first to distinguish between veins and arteries. He believed that the arteries were full of air and that they carried the "animal spirit" (pneuma). He considered atoms to be the essential body element, and he believed they were vitalized by the pneuma that circulated through the nerves. He also thought that the nerves moved a nervous spirit from the brain. He then differentiated between the function of the sensory and motor nerves, and linked them to the brain. He is credited with one of the first in-depth descriptions of the cerebrum and cerebellum.) who predicted dire outcomes, believing that it was not blood but Pneuma that flowed in the veins. Galen however staunchly defended venesection in his three books on the subject, and in his demonstrations and public disputations. Reputation Galen's fame rested on his anatomical demonstrations, success with influential patrons where others had failed, his learning and his rhetoric. His background and wealth and friendship with Eudemus helped him advance in Roman society. However, Galen was not reluctant to show his contempt for the learning and ethics of his contemporaries in Rome, and his ambitiousness created enemies. Pergamon interlude When he returned to Pergamon in August 166 he claimed he had departed due to professional jealousy, although the outbreak of the Antonine Plague which accompanied the return of Lucius Verus' army in that year may have contributed to this. Return to Rome He was recalled to Rome in 168, by the Emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus to serve in the German wars, a task he was not happy with, preferring to stay in Rome with Marcus Aurelius' son, Commodus. Amongst his clients was the Consul Flavius Boethus, who had introduced him to the imperial court, where he became personal physician to Marcus Aurelius and his son Commodus, returning to Rome on the death of Verus in 169. He later also served as physician to the Emperor Septimius Severus. His own writings are rich with anecdotes illustrating the heights of his fame. Despite being a member of the court, Galen reputedly shunned Latin, preferring to speak and write in his native Greek, a tongue that was actually quite popular in Rome. Galen spent most of the rest of his life at the Roman imperial court, where he was given leave to write and experiment. He did most of his work during this time. For instance, On Prognosis, one of his books, was written in 177-8. He returned to Pergamon in the 190s. Death It is argued whether he died in between 199 and 200 or 217 because of translation the translation can mean both, and there were more books written after 200. The1CREW (talk) 15:10, 19 April 2009 (UTC)The1CREW xD