Galen and the Anatomists
The Complete History of Science
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Galen's Live Dissections
In Pergamum, Galen tells us he'd actually won his position as the chief physician of the Gladiator School by dissecting a monkey. He gladly accepted the ex-consul Boethys' invitation to perform these dissections in Rome. Many of Rome's intellectuals and philosophers gathered to watch Galen operating on a live pig. The working body is not understandable without knowledge of its structure, and Galen would take every opportunity to learn more about the body.
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