Galen and His Contribution to Anatomy: A Review

Galen of Pergamum was the most famous Greek physician during the Roman period (129-200 AD). He was a brilliant anatomist and pioneer of experimental physiology. He was both a universal genius and a prolific writer. He pioneered the concepts of anatomy, physiology and therapeutics. He is credited as being the first to discover that arteries carry blood, not air, as was previously believed. He developed medical tools for surgery and dissection and wrote many volumes of his discoveries and observations. 2,3 He was one of the leading thinkers in medicine and one of the best known physicians of all times. e was not only a gifted practitioner but also a first class anatomist, physiologist, pathologist, and pharmacologist of the ancient times. During fourteen centuries, Galen's works were undisputable textbooks for students of medicine and most valuable manuals for practitioners besides the works of Hippocrates. He established the fundamentals of the medical science which are still significant. Galen was the first to attempt to formulate a classification of diseases and symptoms with a strong basis in anatomy. In this review article, an exhaustive analysis and attempt has been made thereby depicting the biography of Galen and reviewing his multiple contributions in the fields of medicine and anatomy under various sub-headings and the same has been discussed with the available literatures.