Galen and the Anatomists
The Complete History of Science
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The Origins of Galen's Anatomy
Erastratus believed that the arteries contained no blood but Numa. Galen however took a very dim view of much of Erastratus' teachings. So when one day an Erastratian doctor proclaimed publicly that arteries contain no blood, Galen challenged him to demonstrate this by dissecting a life sheep. He did this by ligating the ear-water of a sheep in two places, effectively tying off the artery and isolating it. Then by cutting into it, he demonstrated that the ear- water was in fact full of blood. Despite these public arguments with the Erastratians, Galen was in fact more in debt to the work of Eristratus
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