1.2.2

Galen & Ancient Rome

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Claudius Galen

The Greek physician, Claudius Galen was born in 129 AD in Greece but he then lived in Rome later in his life.

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Similar views to Hippocrates

  • Galen believed that imbalances in the four humours of the body caused diseases.
  • He supported clinical observation and encouraged doctors to monitor a pulse or take urine sample to find out what was wrong with a patient.
    • But Galen thought that blood was absorbed or taken in by the body, rather than pumped around it.
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Theory of Opposites

  • Galen advanced the understanding of the humours through his Theory of Opposites.
  • He thought that humours could be rebalanced by giving a patient something opposite to their symptoms.
    • For example, if you had an excess of blood (hot and wet), doctors should prescribe a treatment which was cold and dry.
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Monotheistic

  • Although Galen lived in the Roman Empire he believed in monotheism (one single God).
    • Because of this, the Christian Church supported his ideas of medicine.
  • As the Church put their weight behind Galen’s ideas of medicine, it was frowned upon to question Galen.
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Miasma Theory

  • The Miasma theory was also included in Galen’s thinking.
    • Miasma theory said that bad air made someone ill when they breathed it in.
    • It was very popular in medieval England and it was probably the most powerful theory of disease until late into the 1800s.
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Ideas lasting for 1,400 years

  • Because of the Church’s support, Galen’s ideas endured (lasted) as the foundation of medicine for 1,400 years, until medieval times.
    • The fact that he was monotheistic and had the Church’s support shows that chance can lead ideas to spread and be used everywhere.

Public Health in Ancient Rome

Ancient Romans began to focus on public health by introducing aqueducts, sewers, baths and doctors.

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Aqueducts, sewers and baths

  • Roman emperors and senators spent a lot of money on building aqueducts to bring clean water into Roman cities.
    • This is likely to be because they thought that unclean drinking water, sewage and dirt tended to make people ill.
  • Ancient Romans built toilets, sewers and public baths that were used to take waste out of buildings and people’s homes.
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Doctors

  • Doctors in Ancient Rome recommended herbs and plants as medicines and they often used Galen’s Theory of Opposites.
  • Bleeding was a common treatment but surgery was very rare.
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Religion

  • The Romans believed that Gods and supernatural things could affect health.
    • Aesculapius was the Roman god of Health and Medicine.
    • Carna was the Roman god who kept the heart and organs healthy.

Progress in Ancient Roman Medicine

There was much progress in Ancient Rome under Galen but inequality was still difficult to overcome.

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Progress - Water and hygiene

  • Roman aqueducts and sewage systems were an improvement in health and medicine that have lasted to today.
    • Clean water and dealing with sewage and dirt are important in societies today.
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Progress - Herbal remedies

  • Ancient Romans took a wide range of herbs and plants to heal them in keeping with Galen’s Theory of Opposites.
    • This continued the trend started in Ancient Egyptian society.
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Progress - Roman Empire

  • The Roman Empire did a good job of providing lots of food, housing and infrastructure (sewage and water).
    • This society/civilisation helped provide the systems that helped society to function.
    • This showed the importance of government in improving the state of medicine and health.
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Progress – Galen

  • The diffusion (spreading) of Galen’s ideas show the importance of chance. His ideas became so popular partly because of the support of the Christian Church.
    • Without this, fewer people would have known about things like clinical observation.
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Inequality

  • However, not all people in Ancient Rome benefited from these changes in society.
    • Diseases still spread and lots of poor people didn’t benefit from doctors, treatments and herbal remedies (treatments).

Jump to other topics

1Medicine Stands Still

2The Beginnings of Change

3A Revolution in Medicine

4Modern Medicine

5Themes in Public Health

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