SCIENCE OF THE ROMAN PERIOD 



fourth and fifth fingers of his left hand. These physi- 

 cians had been treating this condition by applications 

 of poultices to the hand itself. Galen, being called in 

 consultation, pointed out that the injury was prob- 

 ably not in the hand itself, but in the ulner nerve, which 

 controls sensation in the fourth and fifth fingers. 

 Surmising that the nerve must have been injured in 

 some way, he made careful inquiries of the patient, who 

 recalled that he had been thrown from his chariot 

 some time before, striking and injuring his back. Act- 

 ing upon this information, Galen applied stimulating 

 remedies to the source of the nerve itself that is, to 

 the bundle of nerve-trunks known as the brachial 

 plexus, in the shoulder. To the surprise and con- 

 fusion of his fellow-physicians, this method of treat- 

 ment proved effective and the patient recovered com- 

 pletely in a short time. 



Although the functions of the organs in the chest 

 were not well understood by Galen, he was well ac- 

 quainted with their anatomy. He knew that the lungs 

 were covered by thin membrane, and that the heart 

 was surrounded by a sac of very similar tissue. He 

 made constant comparisons also between these organs 

 in different animals, as his dissections were performed 

 upon beasts ranging in size from a mouse to an elephant. 

 The minuteness of his observations is shown by the 

 fact that he had noted and described the ring of bone 

 found in the hearts of certain animals, such as the 

 horse, although not found in the human heart or in 

 most animals. 



His description of the abdominal organs was in 

 general accurate. He had noted that the abdominal 



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