Galen's Medical Theory

Medicine in Ancient Greece was a prominent field that took a holistic and natural approach to life and dealing with its misfortunes. While many would consider the Greek physician Hippocrates, the “Father of Western Medicine,” however, it was Aulus Cornelius Celsus, a medically-trained Roman army veteran and encyclopaedist from whom we derive much of our modern medical knowledge. Before Greek influences, the ancient Romans lacked structured and qualified medical knowledge and facilities to aid in attending to wounds and injuries. Nevertheless, it should be noted that the ancient Romans, chiefly the Roman Army, had some of the finest medical and surgical techniques and methods until the turn of the 18th century. Thus, a Roman surgery was a …show more content…
Due to his high-status, he had access to formal education on the subject surrounding medicine and surgery from one of the top universities in antiquity. He did, however, later transition into medical theory, which would be well-versed by several schools of philosophical thought, providing him with foundations in theoretical medical knowledge. To provide an idea of what Galen’s work consisted of, I present The prince of medicine: Galen in the Roman Empire (pp. 83-84) by Susan Mattern who inferring from Galen's own writings, states that:
Galen publicly vivisected a live monkey, removing its intestines, then challenging the other physicians present to place the intestines back in the abdominal cavity and suture the peritoneum and other abdominal muscles closed, "properly". While Galen was probably the most influential on medicine and surgery, Soranus provided us with manual, which served as a window into Roman gynecology, and later, Roman women’s medicine. Therefore, we are adorned with impeccable illustrations of how ancient midwives were, their surgical techniques such as C-sections and many other methods.
It is well-supported that opium poppies were vastly grown and harvested in the Roman Empire. Two core topics of disputation, to my understanding, are the degree of expansion and growth in the poppies' adoption …show more content…
However, when Roman soldiers could seek medical attention by a trained doctor within the Roman Camp, they opted for this rather than a fellow soldier. Within the Roman camp, the wounded soldiers were carried to the baggage train, known as the impedimentum, where the doctors (medica) would assist them and these doctors were fantastic in their field as they had Aulus Cornelius Celsus’ De Medicina as a medical manual. Celsus’ medical manual outlines exactly what needs to be done and how to do it when faced with a medical situation. Aulus Cornelius Celsus’ De Medicina addresses how wounds in the ancient Roman times were attended:
The class of wound and its shape are also important. For a contused would is worse than one simply incised, hence it is better to be wounded by a sharp weapon than by a blunt one. A wound is worse also if a piece is cut out, or if the flesh is cut away in one part and hanging free in another. A curved wound is worst, a straight linear one safest; hence a wound is more or less serious, according as it approximates to the former or to the latter shape. (Celsus Book 5, section 26,