Ga·len (g  l n) ad 130?-200? Greek anatomist, physician, and writer whose theories formed the basis of European medicine until the Renaissance. |
Galen [ga´len]
Claudius Galenus (a.d. 130–200). Celebrated Greek physician to Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Although he did not dissect the human cadaver, he made many valuable anatomic and physiologic observations on animals (applying many of them inaccurately to humans). His writings on these and other subjects were extensive, and his influence on medicine was profound for many centuries. His teleology “nature does nothing in vain” was particularly attractive to the medieval mind, although it was stultifying for advances in medical thought and practice.
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