The roots of Western medicine, Hellenistic P3

Shidonna Raven
Apr 30
2 min read

Photo Source: Unsplash,

Asclepiades did much to win acceptance for Greek medicine in Rome. Aulus Cornelius Celsus, the Roman nobleman who wrote De medicina about 30 ce, gave a classic account of Greek medicine of the time, including descriptions of elaborate surgical operations. His book, overlooked in his day, enjoyed a wide reputation during the Renaissance.

During the early centuries of the Christian era, Greek doctors thronged to Rome. The most illustrious of them was Galen, who began practicing there in 161 ce. He acknowledged his debt to Hippocrates and followed the Hippocratic method, accepting the doctrine of the humors. He laid stress on the value of anatomy, and he virtually founded experimental physiology. Galen recognized that the arteries contain blood and not merely air. He showed how the heart sets the blood in motion in an ebb and flow fashion, but he had no idea that the blood circulates. Dissection of the human body was at that time illegal, so that he was forced to base his knowledge upon the examination of animals, particularly apes. A voluminous writer who stated his views forcibly and with confidence, he remained for centuries the undisputed authority from whom no one dared to differ.