Claudius Galen is a great anatomist and physician. Galen's contribution to the development of medicine

“Get up from the table hungry, and you will always be healthy,” said a Roman healer of the 2nd century AD Claudius Galen, who conquered European medicine with his ideas for 13 centuries. He believed that “health is a kind of harmony, but its boundaries are wide and not the same for everyone.” His works on anatomy formed the basis for studying the structure of the human body until the 16th century, until a new work on anatomy by Vesalis appeared. Students studied medicine according to Galen until the 19th century.

It is believed that the name Claudius, added to Galena during the Renaissance, is erroneous, and comes from an incorrect decoding of the Latin abbreviation Cl. (Clarissimus - the brightest), with which Galen's works were signed. The ancient Roman physician was born in 129 AD and died between 200 and 217.

Galen's father was a wealthy sculptor with varied views in various fields. He was interested in philosophy, logic, mathematics, astronomy, as well as literature and agriculture. Nikon instilled in his son curiosity and a passion for learning; he predicted a career for his son as a philosopher and politician, and the boy began to study in this direction. The young man spent a lot of time in the library of Pergamon, the largest after the famous one in Alexandria. The ancient city of Pergamum, the capital of the Kingdom of Pergamum, was the largest cultural and intellectual center of the Hellenistic world. On the outskirts of the modern city of Bergama in Turkey are the ruins of this ancient city.

At that time, dreams were taken very seriously and interpreted as a direct instruction to action. When Galen was about 16 years old, his father had a dream in which Asclepius (the god of medicine in Roman mythology) instructs Nikon to send his son to study medicine. So Claudius Galen went to Asklepion, where he devoted four years to the study of medicine. Asklepion is an interesting establishment that is worth talking about in a little more detail. It was the most famous temple in Pergamon and far beyond its borders. The cult of the god of healing, Asclepius, was worshiped there. Having passed from private ownership to state ownership, the temple acquired the status of a shrine for pilgrimage. Since in the Hellenistic world (the domination of the Greeks) priests were also healers, and medicine was closely connected with religion, Asklepion eventually became a kind of hospital. The sick came to the priests for healing and at the same time donated to the temple. On the walls of the temple were posted notes and observations about diseases, which were often accompanied by prescriptions for medicines. Six centuries before Galen, Hippocrates studied the principles of medicine there.

When Galen's father died, the young man was 19 years old. Supported by his father's inheritance, he set out to travel and study medicine following the example of Hippocrates. Traveling gave him a lot of medical knowledge, which he consolidated at the most authoritative and famous medical school in Alexandria. After spending 9 years traveling and returning to Pergamon, he began medical practice. His first patients were the gladiators of the high priest of Asia, a rich and influential man. The high priest arranged tests for the doctors applying for the position. Claudius Galen emerged victorious, proving his brilliant knowledge of anatomy. Having dissected the monkey and taken out its insides, he invited his rival colleagues to bring the monkey back to normal. Convinced that Galen's colleagues were completely incompetent, the high priest of Asia gave him a position as a doctor with his gladiators. He spent several years in this position, significantly reducing the mortality rate among gladiators - to five people against sixty during the same period of work of his predecessors. He studied anatomy, surgery well, and corrected fractures and dislocations. He also discovered the enormous impact of exercise, diet and proactive measures on health.

Having moved to Rome and becoming a famous practicing doctor, Claudius could not pacify his angry character, which constantly incurred disapproval and anger from his colleagues, less talented and successful doctors. At some point, Galen left Rome, fearing poisoning, but soon returned, obliged to accompany Emperor Marcus Aurelius and his co-ruler Lucius Verus during the terrible plague epidemic that broke out against the backdrop of the war, killing two thousand people a day. In total, five million people died in that epidemic. Later, the emperor sent Galen to serve his son, the future emperor Commodus, whom he served for many years. It was in the service of Commodus that Galen wrote his main works, many of which have come down to us through translations into different languages. Of Galen's 400 known works, about 200 were devoted to medicine, but half were lost due to the fire of the Temple of Peace in Rome in 191. The Temple of Peace was a huge repository where military leaders kept their trophies, rich people kept their jewelry, and Galen used this treasury for his manuscripts.

Medicine owes Claudius Galen the creation of etiology - the science of origin. He systematized the causes of diseases and divided the sources of illnesses into external and internal. The ancient healer believed that anatomy and physiology are the foundation for diagnosis. Galen was the first to describe the technique of dissecting the brain. He introduced the concept of vivisection and conducted experiments on animals (monkeys, pigs, cows). Despite the fact that dissection of human bodies was not prohibited in the Western world at that time, the ancient Roman doctor did not dissect human corpses, but studied human anatomy by analogy with the structure of the body of animals. Because he treated gladiators who often had internal injuries and broken limbs, he was able to study human anatomy in detail, although with many misconceptions. Galen describes about three hundred human muscles.

The great doctor made important discoveries while studying the brain. He proved that when excision of the brain substance there is no pain syndrome. He explained the structure of the nervous system by analogy with a tree from which nerves diverge - branches that are responsible for movement and sensations. Galen discovered the optic nerve leading to the retina. He freed doctors from misconceptions associated with the role of the heart in the human body, explaining that it is the brain and spinal cord that are the basis of sensitivity, emotions and movement.

It was Galen who proved that blood moves through the veins, and not “pneuma,” as was commonly believed for many centuries.

In descriptions of practical medicine, the doctor devoted considerable space to descriptions of diseases of the main human organs. Many recommendations are given on vision diseases. Even then, Galen treated people with electricity, which he extracted from sea rays. He became the founder of pharmacology, creating many tinctures, potions, rubs, and ointments. Prepared according to a special principle, they are still called “galenic preparations”. The ladies owe Galen the invention of the first cosmetic cream - the so-called cold cream, which included rose water, oil and wax.

Claudius was a wonderful bibliographer. He arranged his books in a certain order, indicating the recommended reading sequence and the principle of systematization according to the purposes of the work. This way, in his opinion, it was possible to distinguish his works from fakes.

The influence of Galen's medical and philosophical, teaching and literary activities on the minds of that time was colossal. The Church canonized his teaching as “Galenism” and declared Claudius Galen a pillar of rational teaching. Until the Renaissance, the name and opinion of the revered great physician reigned supreme in many areas of science, until his authority was overthrown by Paracelsus and Vesalius, whom we will discuss in subsequent articles.

Medicine of Galen and medicine of the sorcerer Paracelsus.
Paracelsus (Theophrastus Bombast von Hohenheim) (1493-1541) Swiss physician and naturalist. Subjected to a critical revision of the ideas of ancient medicine. He was among the initiators of the use of chemical medicinal drugs in medicine. Considered one of the founders of modern science. Paracelsus was born into the family of a doctor who came from an old but impoverished noble family. Paracelsus's first teacher was his father, who introduced him to the basics of the art of medicine. In Würzburg, with Abbot Johann Trithemius, Paracelsus studied Kabbalah. This is what he writes in the book “Paragranum” - “Study Kabbalah, it will explain everything to you. All physics, including all its special sciences: astronomy, astrology, pyromancy, chaomancy, hydromancy, geomancy, alchemy... - they are all matrices of the noble science of Kabbalism.” Compiled astrological calendars.

Paracelsus received his university education in Ferrara, where he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Medicine.
Gained extensive experience as a military doctor; published little during his lifetime. He traveled extensively throughout Europe, treated, researched, performed alchemical experiments, and conducted astrological observations. He wrote and taught not in Latin, but in German.
Paracelsus invented several effective medicines. One of his major achievements was the explanation of the nature and causes of silicosis (an occupational disease of miners). In 1534, he helped stop an outbreak of plague by resorting to measures that resembled vaccination.
Paracelsus is considered the forerunner of modern pharmacology; he wrote the phrase: “Everything is poison, and nothing is devoid of poisonousness; Just one dose makes the poison invisible.”
He is believed to have been the first to discover the principle of similarity that underlies modern homeopathy.
The powerful influence and unique spiritual makeup of Paracelsus more or less affected the development of European philosophy, natural science, medicine, influencing the mystical concepts of J. Boehme, the natural philosophical views of J.B. Gelmont and F.M. Helmont, based on the teachings of G.V. Leibniz on monads (“vital spirits”), the work of I.V. Goethe, F.V.I. Schelling and Novalis, as well as the “philosophy of life” of L. Klages.

Table of therapeutic bloodletting created by Paracelsus:

Philip Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, better known as Paracelsus:

“The monarchy over all the arts was granted to me, Paracelsus, Prince of Philosophy and Medicine. I have been chosen by God to destroy all the fantasies of far-fetched and deceitful works, deceptive and presumptuous words, be they the words of Aristotle, Galen, Avicenna or any of their followers.” From the manifesto of Philip Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim (1493-1541)

In 1527, invited to the University of Basel as a doctor of medicine, at his first lecture burned the works of Galen and Avicenna.

It seemed there is no disease that Paracelsus could not cure. His tincture of opium served as an effective pain reliever for centuries. He treated syphilis with small doses of poisonous mercury vapor, but rarely did anyone believe him. Only 400 years later, a new cure for syphilis based on poisonous arsenic appeared.

Unlike barbers who bled, treated wounds and, if unsuccessful, resorted to amputation, Paracelsus simply cleaned and dried the wounds, believing that the rest would be completed by the healing power of the body. Despite the high level of success, this approach did not take root until the 19th century. Paracelsus (primarily as a practitioner) emphasized the importance of doctor-patient contact. Knowing the placebo effect, he used it for good.

Paracelsus was the first to understand that the cause of miners' illnesses was dust, and not underground spirits. He was the first to come to the conclusion that Graves' disease is caused by drinking water. And he was the first to say that madness is a disease, not demonic possession, and therefore patients demand humane treatment.

Paracelsus preferred taverns to libraries, where he often got everyone drunk. Dismissed from one university post, he happily became a traveling doctor. But still Paracelsus achieved the impossible. After the publication of a number of his works, including the famous “Great Surgery,” the scientific world reluctantly recognized him as a talented scientist and physician.

In 1541, the Duke of Bavaria offered him a new position. In the autumn of Paracelsus found dead in a tavern in Salzburg. Even the cause of death of the mysterious healer at the age of 47 is ambiguous. According to some rumors, he was killed in a drunken brawl; according to others, he was poisoned by his enemies. There is another version: Paracelsus, having made a will, died a few days later from heart disease. The death of Paracelsus did not mean the end. The recognition came late, perhaps too late, but it came.

Kabbalist and mystic, he believed that the entire macrocosm around us is represented in the microcosm of consciousness, and the brain, a cast of the Universe, can reveal all its secrets. This belief in miracles was higher than herbs and minerals. He wrote about swords that could cut an anvil in two; about spells that make bodies invisible; magical means of communication a hundred miles away; about nymphs, sylphs and gnomes...

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Galen- Roman (Greek origin) physician, surgeon and philosopher.
Galen made significant contributions to the understanding of many scientific disciplines, including anatomy, physiology, pathology, pharmacology, and neurology, as well as philosophy and logic.

The common spelling of the name is Claudius Galen(lat. Claudius Galenus) appears only in the Renaissance and is not recorded in manuscripts; it is believed that this is an erroneous decoding of the abbreviation Cl.(Clarissimus).

The son of a wealthy architect, Galen received an excellent education, traveled widely, and collected a lot of medical information. Having settled in Rome, he healed the Roman nobility, eventually becoming the personal physician of several Roman emperors.

His theories dominated European medicine for 1300 years. His anatomy, based on the dissection of monkeys and pigs, was used until Andreas Vesalius's work “On the Structure of the Human Body” appeared in 1543, his theory of blood circulation existed until 1628, when William Harvey published his work “An Anatomical Study on the Movement of the Heart and Blood in Animals” ", in which he described the role of the heart in blood circulation. Medical students studied Galen up to and including the 19th century. His theory that the brain controls movement through the nervous system is still relevant today.

Galen was convinced of the need for diet, exercise, hygiene and prevention, studied anatomy, treatment of fractures and severe injuries, calling injuries “windows of the body.” During his tenure, only 5 gladiators died, compared to 60 under his predecessor, indicating the great attention Galen paid to their injuries. At the same time, he continued to study theoretical medicine and philosophy.

Treatment according to Galen is the right diet and medications. In contrast to Hippocrates, Galen argued that medicines of plant and animal origin contain useful and ballast substances, that is, he was the first to introduce the concept of active substances. Galen treated with extracts from plants, widely used syrups, wines, a mixture of vinegar and honey, etc.

In his writings, Galen mentioned 304 plants, 80 animals and 60 minerals.

Galen was of the opinion that in medicinal plants, which in his time constituted the main part of the arsenal of medicines, there are two “principles”. One of them has a healing effect on the sick body, the other is useless or even harmful to the body. The active principle prefers the liquid to the dried plant, so it is easy to separate it from the useless one. To do this, plant materials should be infused or boiled with water, wine or other liquid suitable for oral administration, which was then used as medicine.

The history of medicine is full of extraordinary and unique personalities, many generations ahead of their contemporaries in terms of thinking and breadth of views. And one of these outstanding minds, of course, is the famous ancient doctor, researcher and writer Claudius Galen, whose medical theories were so progressive that they were actively used for more than a thousand years after his death.

Early years, philosophy studies

A Roman scientist with Greek roots, Claudius Galen was born in 129 AD in the city of Pergamon, and was the son of the rich and famous architect Nikon. As Galen himself later wrote in his works, it was his father who instilled in him a thirst for knowledge, since he himself was a very inquisitive person, interested in mathematics, physics, astronomy and literature. Galen's father actively shared his extensive knowledge with his son, so that even at a very young age, the future doctor had a very broad outlook and was an order of magnitude smarter and more advanced than all his peers.

Galen's father dreamed that his son would take up politics or philosophy, and therefore he spared no effort and money, and already at the age of 14, Galen, who perfectly knew all the philosophical systems of that time, was introduced to the circle of the most famous Roman philosophers. Under their guidance, he was raised over the next two years, but at the age of 16, Galen’s father suddenly spent a lot of money in order to send the young man to study medicine. In his writings, Galen wrote that such a decision was made after Asclepius appeared to his father in a dream, and ordered his son to be taught medicine.

Medical career and travel

One way or another, at the age of 16, Galen ended up in Asklepion - a temple and hospital where he studied, learned the basics of medicine and even had the opportunity to treat very different people, since sometimes famous political figures from Rome itself came here. However, according to Galen himself, he learned all the information he needed quickly enough and his growth slowed down, so when at the age of 19 his father died, leaving him all his funds, Galen began to travel and study medicine with the best specialists throughout Europe.

On these trains, he studied anatomy, biology, explored the properties of various plants, dissected animals, studied with pharmacists, and developed in all directions at once. It took him four years to do this, and after that he returned to Pergamon, where he began working as a doctor for gladiators. In this matter, he was very successful and was able to accumulate valuable practical experience, since gladiators came to him with all kinds of injuries and illnesses. During the 5 years of his work, only 5 warriors died, while previously there were 50-60 deaths every year.

At the age of 33, Galen moved to Rome, where he began working as a doctor. He had more and more visitors, but his methods were so innovative and his approaches so unusual that he very quickly quarreled with all his large and famous colleagues. The conflicts became so serious that Galen was forced to leave Rome for fear of poisoning or dastardly murder. However, he managed to make a name for himself there, and when the great epidemic began in Rome in 166, Galen was ordered to return to accompany Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus.

Antoninovo plague

The Antonine Plague was one of the most serious trials that Galen, and indeed the entire Roman Empire, faced. This devastating epidemic began in 166 and actually lasted until 169, killing a huge number of people (3.5 to 5 million).

Although many doctors of that time took measures to combat the disease, only Galen systematically approached its study, identified and described the symptoms, and also drew up a course of treatment. His notes have survived to this day, suggesting that the fatal disease was smallpox. Thanks to the actions of Galen, who was temporarily brought closer to the ruling elite, the mortality rate from the disease was reduced to 7 percent from almost 15. However, Galen did not have enough strength for everything, and other doctors actively put spokes in his wheels. Initially, he always accompanied Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, but after some time he was sent to monitor the heir Commodus. Well, a few years later, Lucius Verus and Marcus Avreli both died from the plague.

It is also worth noting that ten years later, already during the reign of Commodus, the plague appeared again, and was even more deadly (more than 2 thousand people died per day). And apparently, only thanks to the measures developed by Galen, she did not destroy the entire Roman nation.

Research and scientific works

Working at the court of the heir to Commodus, Galen had the opportunity not only to work actively, but also to engage in research, as well as collaborate with some foreign doctors. Here he wrote a lot of both scientific and fiction literature. During this time, he described more than 300 muscles, presented evidence that blood moves through arteries (previously thought to be pneuma), explored nerves, their importance in the human body, and many other issues. During his life, he wrote more than 400 works, about a hundred of which have survived to this day.

Galen was the first physician to create the theory of blood circulation, studied animals, and cut the spinal cord of a pig in order to demonstrate the complete lack of sensitivity in all limbs. He also systematized various knowledge in pharmacology and other areas of medicine, wrote many philosophical treatises and historical works.

His works on anatomy were used to teach students throughout Europe until 1543, when Andres Vesalius created his work On the Structure of the Human Body. Well, Galen’s theory of blood supply was considered correct until 1628 until the appearance of the works of William Harvey.

Galen was an outstanding scientist who made a huge contribution to world science, and the progressiveness of his views still amazes researchers from all over the world. It is thanks to this Roman doctor with Greek roots that modern medicine has the appearance that we all know.

St. Petersburg State Medical Academy named after. I.I. Mechnikova

Department of Public Health and Healthcare with a course on the history of medicine

Course work

Topic: Claudius Galen

St. Petersburg 2010

Plan

Introduction

Biography

Scientific activity

Bibliography

Introduction

The famous scientist of the era of Ancient Rome, Claudius Galen, possessed versatile knowledge. From a young age, he showed interest in understanding man and the nature around him. Medicine and natural science of that time are associated with his brilliant works. They served as the basis for the further development of natural science and medical science.

Biography

Galen (c.129 - c.201) - an ancient physician, famous Roman physician and naturalist - was from Pergamon. The son of a wealthy architect, he received a good education, studying philosophy, mathematics, and natural sciences. Galen was preparing to become a philosopher and studied the works of Greek and Roman thinkers. But by chance, Galen's dream was misinterpreted - and he became a physician, although he continued to be interested in philosophy all his life.

At the age of 21, Galen lost his father. Having received a large inheritance, Galen set off on a seven-year journey. In Smyrna he studied philosophy and anatomy, in Corinth - natural science and the properties of medicines, in Alexandria - again anatomy.

Returning to Pergamon, Galen began practicing surgery and became a doctor at a gladiator school. This work became for Galen a real school of medical art. He wrote: “I often had to lead the hand of surgeons who were not very sophisticated in anatomy, and thereby save them from public shame.”

At the age of 34, Galen moved to Rome, where he received the position of court physician to Emperor Marcus Aurelius and his son Emperor Commodus. He became so famous that in Ancient Rome coins with his image were issued.

In the Temple of Peace, Galen opened a course of lectures on anatomy not only for doctors, but also for everyone. Galen, who was the first to use live cutting, demonstrated the dissection of dogs, pigs, bears, ruminants, and even monkeys. Since dissecting human bodies was then considered blasphemy, Galen could only study human anatomy on wounded gladiators and executed robbers.

According to the Suda, Galen lived 70 years and died around 200 AD. e. According to Arab sources, Galen lived to be 80 years old and, therefore, his death dates back to around 210.

Scientific activity

Galen attached great importance to the study of the anatomy and physiology of animals. These works are especially important in his extensive scientific heritage. Galen considered nature to be the main source of knowledge, the infallible teacher of truth. All his work is a hymn to nature. He wrote more than once: “Everything that is created by nature is excellent.” “Listen to the words that describe the amazing secrets of nature.” Naturalist Galen zealously studied nature. Galen's path of research aspirations was completely correct and advanced for his time.

One of Galen’s main works, “Deanatomia” (“On Anatomy”), consists of 16 books; Nine of them have reached us. These books were written in Greek, which at that time was the generally accepted language in science. In this study, Galen gives a consistent and complete description of the structure of the body. Along with a large number of morphological observations, studies and discoveries, Galen also took one of the first places in the application of the experimental method to study anatomy. The anatomical views are presented in some detail; all departments are developed, but not equally fully. Osteology, which he studied back in Alexandria, is described in more detail. Describing the bones, Galen noted that in a living organism they are covered with a membrane - the periosteum. He distinguished in the skeleton long bones that had a canal with bone marrow, and flat bones that lacked a canal. In bones, he describes the apophyses, diaphyses and epiphyses. The Galenic term trochanter (trochanter) has been preserved and entered into anatomical terminology.

In his morphological descriptions, Galen described the skull relatively correctly; he noted the merit of Hippocrates, who described four forms of the head (skull) and each of the sutures, which Galen wrote about in his main work “On the purpose of the parts of the human body.”

Galen considered teeth to be skeletal bones. He studied the origin of teeth and described this in his anatomical treatise.

In the axial skeleton - the spine - Galen described 24 vertebrae, which pass into the sacrum and coccygeal bones. On the lumbar vertebra, Galen found a process inherent in monkeys and absent in humans. He considered the sacrum to be the most important supporting bone, but describes it as consisting of three fragments, i.e. just like he saw it in pigs. Galen correctly described the clavicle, ribs and other human bones, but he describes the sternum not from the human skeleton, but from the skeletons of animals. He believed that the sternum consists of seven parts and triangular cartilage, i.e. like dogs.

Galen described the bones of the upper and lower extremities. His conscientious osteological descriptions still contain inevitable inaccuracies.

As for Galen's teachings about the connections of bones, he noted two types of connections: diarthrosis - movable joints and synarthrosis - immobile. He divided diarthrosis into anarthrosis, arthrosis and ginglyma. Galen divided synarthrosis into sutures, gomphoses and flat fusions, such as the symphysis of the pubic bones. This classification is accepted for joints in modern anatomy. But still, in Galen’s descriptions there are many inaccuracies, especially in the description of the human ligamentous and articular apparatus.

Galen made a great contribution to the study of the active apparatus of movement. Galen wrote a treatise entitled “On the Anatomy of Muscles.” In his myological treatise, Galen was one of the first researchers to systematically and systematically study the anatomy of muscles.

Angiology in Galen is presented at length and in detail, according to the views of that era. He considered the heart to be a “muscle-like” organ, and not a muscle, because he did not find in it the presence of nerve branches characteristic of skeletal muscles. He mistakenly determined the location of the heart in the center of the chest. Galen correctly described the coronary vessels of the heart and the ductus arteriosus. Galen considered the septum of the heart to be permeable to blood, which could leak through it from the left heart to the right.

Galen carefully studied and described the walls of the arteries as structures that were thicker in comparison with the walls of the veins, which, in his opinion, were equipped with a single lining of their own.

Galen studied the structure of the breathing tube in some detail. He described the respiratory apparatus, which included the larynx, rigid artery (trachea), bronchi, lungs and their vascular apparatus, the heart, its left ventricle and vascular system, pulmonary arteries and veins. He compared the structure of the larynx with the structure of a flute.

Galen knew the difference between arterial and venous blood. Galen believed that the pulsating force of the arteries was the main mover of blood through the vessels.

The structure of the lung, according to Galen’s descriptions, consists of branches of the windpipe, pulmonary arteries, veins and air parenchyma, first described by Erasstratus. Galen carried out experiments on experimental animals with the removal of part of the chest wall with intercostal muscles to prove that the lungs are not fused with the chest wall .

Galen experimentally proved that when the digestion in the stomach of an animal is finished, the lower opening of the stomach opens and food easily descends there (into the intestines), even accompanied by a large number of pebbles, nucleoli or other objects that are unable to turn into chyle. We can see this on an animal by calculating the moment of food moving down..."

Galen carefully studied the process of digestion and said that it depends on the strength of the stomach. The stomach attracts, retains and changes food substances. Galen considered the liver to be a hematopoietic organ and described it as having four lobes, which is typical for the structure of animal livers. The human gall bladder, according to Galen, has two ducts: the cystic and the bile ducts, and both of them, in his opinion, flow into the duodenum.

He also studied the genitourinary apparatus: the purpose of the kidneys, according to Galen, is to remove excess water from the blood and mainly from the vena cava system. Small tubules in the kidney filter the watery fluid and excrete it from the body as urine.

While studying the comparative morphology of the genitals, Galen expressed an interesting idea about parallelism in the structure of male and female organs. In his opinion, the ovaries in women correspond to the testicles in men; uterus - scrotum; private lips - foreskin. Galen rejected the bicornuate structure of a woman’s uterus, but considered the paired fallopian tubes to be its beginning. In his treatise “On Semen,” he referred to his experience - the operation of removing the ovaries of animals, which is far from safe.

Galen's merits are especially great in the field of research of the nervous system. Studying the nervous system, he successfully continued to develop the basic concepts of Alcmaeon and Hippocrates, arguing that the center of thinking and feeling is the brain. Galen considered the cerebellum and spinal cord to emerge from the brain as a kind of “root”. Galen considered the brain to be the source of the body's motor ability.

Galen carefully described all parts of the brain: the cerebral commissure, the lateral or anterior ventricles, the middle ventricle, the fourth ventricle, the fornix, which serves to maintain the weight of the parts of the brain located above it and to protect the ventricles from pressure on them.

Galen noted the connection between the senses and the brain. He made a number of interesting experiments with transection of the spinal cord at various levels of its extension and tried to establish its role and significance in the motor acts of the body and in sensory perceptions. By dissecting the spinal cord transversely, Galen observed loss of sensation and movement disorders in the areas located below the section. Cutting the spinal cord along its entire length, he noted no sensory or motor disorders. By cutting the spinal cord between the atlas and the occiput or between the atlas and the epistropheus, he observed the death of the animal immediately after the cut.

Described about 300 human muscles. He proved that it is not the heart, but the brain and spinal cord that are “the center of movement, sensitivity and mental activity.” He concluded that “without a nerve there is not a single part of the body, not a single movement called voluntary, not a single feeling.” By cutting the spinal cord across, Galen showed the disappearance of sensitivity in all parts of the body lying below the cut site. He proved that blood moves through the arteries, and not “pneuma,” as previously thought.

He created about 400 works on philosophy, medicine and pharmacology, of which about a hundred have reached us.

Described the quadrigeminal midbrain, seven pairs of cranial nerves, and the vagus nerve; Conducting experiments on transection of the spinal cord of pigs, he demonstrated the functional difference between the anterior (motor) and posterior (sensitive) roots of the spinal cord.

Based on observations of the absence of blood in the left parts of the heart of killed animals and gladiators, as well as holes in the interventricular septum that he discovered while dissecting the corpses of premature babies, he created the first theory of blood circulation in the history of physiology (according to it, it was believed, in particular, that arterial and venous blood are liquids are different, and if the first “spreads movement, warmth and life,” the second is called upon to “nourish the organs”), which existed until the discoveries of Andreas Vesalius and William Harvey.

Galen systematized the ideas of ancient medicine in the form of a single doctrine, which was the theoretical basis of medicine until the end of the Middle Ages. Galen contributed to the development of bibliography in ancient Rome. He is the author of two bibliographic indexes: “On the order of his own books”, “On his own books”. The first of them is a kind of introduction to the collected works of Galen with recommendations on the order in which they should be read. The introduction to the second index states the purpose of the work: to help the reader distinguish the true works of Galen from those attributed to him. The chapters adopt a systematic grouping of works: works on anatomy, therapy and prognosis of the disease, comments on the works of Hippocrates, works directed against individual medical schools, works on philosophy, grammar and rhetoric.

Laid the beginning of pharmacology. Until now, “galenic preparations” are called tinctures and ointments prepared in certain ways.

The collected works of Galen that have survived to our time exceed in volume all the medical works written before him; for us they are the main source of information on ancient medicine. Most of the works of that era, with the exception of those that survived under the name of Hippocrates, have been lost. And the medical works written after Galen are mostly based on his works or are simply repetitions or compilations of them.

Usually his works are referred to by a single “modern” edition, which claims to be relatively complete. This is a publication by K. Kühn (1754-1840) in 22 volumes, published in 1821-1833. It includes 122 individual works. After the publication of this edition, a number of Galen's works were discovered. Many of his works are completely lost; some have come down to us only in Arabic translations made in the 9th or 10th centuries. medic galen antique pneuma

Both in the East and in the West, Galen was considered an indisputable authority almost until the 16th century. Without a doubt, his writings significantly influenced the development of medicine. Particularly authoritative in the Middle Ages was his huge work The Method of Healing (Demethodomedendi), also known as the Great Science (Latin Arsmagna, Greek “Mega Techne”), which existed in several abbreviated versions.

It was this, in a more or less vulgarized form, that formed the basis of the education of medieval doctors. However, starting from the 17th century. this book had almost no influence on medicine: only some of the valuable herbal preparations mentioned in it, called “galenic”, remained in use.

Books on anatomy and physiology contain extensive factual material and are closest to science in spirit. They also had the greatest influence: translated into Latin and published in the 16th century, these works became the basis for the development of modern scientific medicine. Many terms in modern medical language directly go back to Galen or to the Latin translations of his works.

Other works are devoted to pathology, hygiene, issues of dietetics and therapy, and pharmacology. There are commentaries on the works of Hippocrates, polemical works on medicine, works on philosophy, logic and philology. Many of his medical writings were of great importance in the Middle Ages, but only books on anatomy, physiology, hygiene and pathology contributed to the development of modern medicine.

Worldview and theories of Galen. Galen believed in one God the creator; all his scientific activity was imbued with the consciousness of the divinity of the creation of all nature and, first of all, man. Galen believed that everything in the structure of the human body, down to the smallest detail, was created by God. Galen's favorite example to prove this was the human hand. Every muscle, tendon, nerve, bone, blood vessel is created, in his opinion, in as perfect a manner as possible.

Galen devoted many pages of his enormous work On the Purpose of Parts of the Human Body (Deusupartium corporis humani) to discussions about the hand. True, the descriptions available here refer more to the limb of a rhesus monkey than to a human hand. Galen knew the human skeleton well, but he caused confusion in human anatomy by trying to “hang” the muscular system of a monkey on the human skeleton.

The doctrine of pneuma. Those theories of Galen, which we would now call physiological, were also associated with his religious views. He firmly believed in the existence of pneuma, that is, “spirit” or “breath of life.” He believed that the world is full of pneuma, which is drawn into the body when breathing, and also that when the world's pneuma ceases to be inhaled, a person or other living creature dies. Once in the liver, food is processed there into “natural spirit” (Greek “pneuumaphusikon”).

Blood from the liver goes to all parts of the body and to the heart, where it passes through pores (not actually existing) in the septum separating the left and right ventricles. There it mixes with the “world spirit” and turns into the “vital spirit” (lat. spiritus vitalalis), and passing from the left ventricle into the arterial system and then into the brain, it enters the “wonderful network” (lat. retemirabile) (also non-existent) , where it turns into a “soul spirit” (lat. spiritusanimalis), distributed along the nerves, which were mistakenly considered hollow vessels.

Hippocrates' teaching about the four "humours". Galen also adhered to the teachings of Hippocrates about the four juices (humors), which correspond to four types of temperament. These are blood (sanguine), phlegm (phlegmatic), black bile (melancholic), yellow bile (choleric). Galen correlated these juices with the four classical primary elements: earth, air, fire and water.

Basic works. Galen's anatomical views are most fully presented in his great work On Anatomy (Deanatomicis administrationibus). Initially it included 16 books, of which only the first nine have come down to us in Greek, the rest have been preserved in Arabic translations. An appendix to this work is a short treatise on bones.

This is the only ancient anatomical work directly based on the study of human anatomy in an era when dissection of the human body was prohibited. The descriptions are highly accurate; the descriptions of the skull bones are especially valuable. Galen considers teeth to be bones and gives a completely plausible version of their origin. It contains 24 vertebrae located above the sacrum, which is considered the most important bone of the spinal column, and gives accurate and detailed descriptions of the ribs, sternum, clavicle and limb bones.

Galen identified two main types of joints, calling them diarthrosis and synarthrosis. The first are movable joints, the second are fixed joints, such as the sutures of the skull. These terms, like many others, have been preserved in modern medical nomenclature. There is no doubt that Galen's work on the muscle system was largely innovative. He wrote a special book On muscle movement (Demotumusculorum). It is probably the muscles that are described with the greatest accuracy in his works. Galen's writings often refer to the form and function of the muscles of various animals. Thus, the muscles of the orbit and larynx are described using the example of a bull, and the muscles of the tongue - using the example of a monkey. Often he notes the differences between certain animal muscles he describes and the corresponding human muscles.

Galen's descriptions of the brain are less original than his descriptions of muscles or experiments with the spinal cord. Obviously, most often he had in mind the brain of the bull, since he pays special attention to the “wonderful network”, which is well developed in this animal, but absent in humans.

Experiments with complete or partial transection of the spinal cord at different levels are described clearly and accurately, and they have formed the basis of modern research into the central nervous system. The scientist knew about the existence of ganglia (nerve ganglia) and traced the sympathetic nervous system in all its elements.

Blood vessels are described worse by Galen than bones, muscles or the nervous system. He dedicated to them a special work on the anatomy of veins and arteries (Devenarumarteriarumquedissectione), but false ideas about blood circulation hampered research in this area. Following Hippocrates, the venous system was compared to a tree whose roots come from the abdominal organs. The trunk is the large vein of the chest and abdominal cavity, the branches are in the lungs and other parts of the body; Particularly important is the branch that we now call the right ventricle.

The veins appear to emerge from the liver. Galen had a sound understanding of the general direction of blood flow in the veins. He believed that the veins receive nutrition from the intestines and carry it to the liver through the “gate” (Greek “pule”, Lat. porta), hence the modern name “portal vein”. He had clear ideas about the veins of the brain, and some of them still bear his name. The attention that Galen pays to the superficial veins may seem excessive to the modern reader.

Galen gave a comparative description of the arteries. The “roots” of the arterial system come from the arterial vein (in the lungs), which we now call the pulmonary artery. The left ventricle and aorta are considered as a trunk from which branches arise. Galen noticed that arteries have much thicker walls than veins.

He proved that his anatomist predecessors, who believed that arteries contained air or pneuma, or both, and that blood entered them only after an incision, were mistaken. To do this, Galen performed a highly visual experiment: he opened the artery to a sufficient length and tied it up in two places, and then cut it between two ligatures, after which blood flowed. It could not pass through the dressings, which means it had to be in the artery before they were applied.

From the 16th century it was known that Galen performed most of his dissections on monkeys and that they were the ones described by him in his practical treatise On Anatomy. Subsequently, the question of whether he performed autopsies on human bodies was repeatedly discussed. In a number of places Galen mentions human dissections, in others there is a hint that he performed them himself.

Galen had many students, but due to the troubled times that followed, his work was not continued. With his death, the development of experimental physiology stopped for at least 1300 years.