Galen and his importance in Roman Medicine

Tasks

1. Galen trained as a doctor in Pergamum and in Alexandria. What is the significance of

these two cities in the development of medicine in the Ancient World?

2. Galen’s first job was as a doctor to gladiators. Why might this have given him some
special advantages in anatomy?

3. See the image below and answer the following questions:

a. Pneuma
b. Food
c. Blood with natural spirit
d. Blood with vital spirit
e. Blood with animal spirit

4. Should historians see Galen’s work as a development or a change in medicine?

Explain your answer

5. What effect did religious beliefs have on Galen’s work? (Think especially of the
legacy)

6. Galen’s theory of anatomy and physiology was wrong. Does this mean it is not
important in the history of medicine?