Galen of Pergamon
A prominent physician and surgeon in the Roman Empire whose extensive writings dominated Western medicine for over a millennium.
Most quoted
"I have done as much for medicine as Trajan did for the Roman Empire when he built the bridges and roads through Italy. It is I, and I alone, who have revealed the true path of medicine."
— from On My Own Books
"All who drink of this remedy recover in a short time, except those whom it does not help, who all die. Therefore, it is obvious that it fails only in incurable cases."
— from On the Therapeutic Method
"I have often seen physicians, when they have failed to cure a disease, blame the patient's constitution, or the stars, or anything but their own ignorance."
— from On the Natural Faculties
All quotes by Galen of Pergamon (337)
The physician must be a man of integrity.
The nerves are for sensation and motion.
The arteries carry blood from the heart.
The veins carry blood to the heart.
The physician must be a good communicator.
The bones are for support and protection.
The muscles are for movement.
The physician must be compassionate.
The skin is for protection and sensation.
The eyes are for sight.
The ears are for hearing.
The nose is for smell.
The tongue is for taste.
The physician must be a lifelong learner.
The brain is the most noble part of the body.
The soul is immortal.
The body is mortal.
The physician must be a man of good character.
The humors are blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile.
The balance of the humors determines health.
Contemporaries of Galen of Pergamon
Other Medicines born within 50 years of Galen of Pergamon (129–216).