Galen, a second-century Greek physician and philosopher, rose from gladiators’ physician in Asia Minor to court physician in the Rome of Marcus Aurelius. He is considered the most important physician of the ancient world after Hippocrates. Galen had an inquiring mind and was anxious to form his own independent judgments. His knowledge was equally great in theory and practice. Much of our information on earlier medicine derives from his reports alone, as he absorbed into his work nearly all preceding medical thought.  Read more…