c. 129-c. 216

Greek Physician, Writer, and Philosopher

The work of Galen (Claudius Galenus) made him the primary authority on medical understanding and practice throughout the Middle Ages. Often described as the leading scientist of the time, he is particularly known for his contributions to physiology and often is noted as the father of experimental physiology. These contributions arose mainly from information he gathered during the many animal dissections he performed and from his insights and inferences regarding the functions of and relationships between various organs. Galen's reputation in the medical community was enhanced further by his role as physician to three Roman emperors, as well as by the more than 500 books and treatises he wrote about his findings and hypotheses.

Galen was born in Pergamum, off the east coast of the Aegean Sea in Asia Minor (present day Bergama, Turkey) in 129. In his early years, Galen was educated...