Bologna. 3 



A true observer, he draws his facts directly from nature, and so great 

 were the awe and veneration in which he was held by succeeding 

 generations of anatomists, that, for many centuries, to call in question 

 the accuracy of the most trivial statement made by Galen was equi- 

 valent to rank heresy. 



Galen possessed an extensive and accurate knowledge of the bones. 

 He refers to his good fortune in having been able to study two human 

 skeletons in Alexandria, and his osteological facts are for the most 

 part directly drawn from man. It is very evident, however, that in 

 some cases his descriptions were taken from the skeletons of monkeys^). 

 He was profoundly impressed with the importance of anatomy and 

 physiology as branches of medical training, and he advocates the dis- 

 section of the human body. Notwithstanding this, it is extremely 

 doubtful if he was ever able to do so himself. The structure of the 

 lower animals, and more especially of monkeys brought to him from 

 Africa, he investigated most fully, and his descriptions of the soft parts 

 have evidently been very largely prepared from these ^). 



Such, then, was the condition of anatomy in the second century 

 after the birth of Christ. The sum total of the knowledge which had 

 been acquired may be estimated by the writings of Galen ; and these 

 are to be regarded, not only as the embodiment of his own researches, 

 but also as containing the facts which had been ascertained by the 

 anatomists who had lived before him. 



Shortly after the death of Galen, which took place near the close 

 of the second century, the light of anatomy became extinguished in 

 Europe. Barbarous hordes began to press upon the Roman Empire, 

 and ultimately, when its power was shattered, learning of all kinds 

 decreased, and Europe sank into the utter darkness of ignorance and 

 superstition. 



*) Thus he describes an intermaxillary bone; lie is a little doubtful as to tlie 

 number of the ribs; and he states that the sternum consists of seven pieces, &c , &c. 



2) Still it is right to state: (1) that in his 13th Book, "On the use of Parts," 

 he says — "I am determined to set forth the structure and composition of man alone." 

 (2) In his 1st Book, "On Anatomical Manipulations," he remarks — "It is necessary 

 to observe and look into every particle, especially in men." (3) In certain cases he 

 draws a comparison between the structure of the ape and that of man, e.g., in the 

 tendons of the foot. 



1* 



