Ancient Rome's most notorious doctor - Ramon Glazov
-
0:07 - 0:09In the middle of the 16th century,
-
0:09 - 0:15a talented young anatomist named Andreas
Vesalius made a shocking discovery: -
0:15 - 0:19the most famous human anatomy texts in
the world were wrong. -
0:19 - 0:23They not only failed to account for many
details of the human body, -
0:23 - 0:27they also described the organs of apes
and other mammals. -
0:27 - 0:29While Vesalius knew he was right,
-
0:29 - 0:33announcing these errors would mean
challenging Galen of Pergamon– -
0:33 - 0:37the most renowned physician
in medical history. -
0:37 - 0:39But who was this towering figure?
-
0:39 - 0:46And why did doctors working more than
1,300 years later so revere and fear him? -
0:46 - 0:49Born in 129 CE,
-
0:49 - 0:54Galen left home as a teen to scour the
Mediterranean for medical wisdom. -
0:54 - 0:57He returned home a gifted surgeon with a
passion for anatomy -
0:57 - 1:00and a penchant for showmanship.
-
1:00 - 1:03He gleefully entered public anatomy
contests, -
1:03 - 1:06eager to show up his fellow physicians.
-
1:06 - 1:07In one demonstration,
-
1:07 - 1:12he caused a pig to lose its voice by tying
off one of its nerves. -
1:12 - 1:18In another, he disemboweled a monkey and
challenged his colleagues to repair it. -
1:18 - 1:20When they couldn’t, he did.
-
1:20 - 1:25These grizzly feats won him a position as
surgeon to the city’s gladiators. -
1:25 - 1:29Eventually, he would leave the arena
to become the personal physician -
1:29 - 1:32to four Roman Emperors.
-
1:32 - 1:35While his peers debated symptoms and
their origins, -
1:35 - 1:38Galen obsessively studied anatomy.
-
1:38 - 1:42He was convinced that each organ had a
specific function. -
1:42 - 1:46Since the Roman government largely
prohibited working with human cadavers, -
1:46 - 1:50Galen conducted countless dissections
of animals instead. -
1:50 - 1:51Even with this constraint,
-
1:51 - 1:57his exhaustive investigations yielded
some remarkably accurate conclusions. -
1:57 - 2:00One of Galen’s most important
contributions -
2:00 - 2:04was the insight that the brain,
not the heart, controlled the body. -
2:04 - 2:08He confirmed this theory by opening the
cranium of a living cow. -
2:08 - 2:11By applying pressure to different
parts of the brain, -
2:11 - 2:15he could link various regions
to specific functions. -
2:15 - 2:19Other experiments allowed him to
distinguish sensory from motor nerves, -
2:19 - 2:22establish that urine was
made in the kidneys, -
2:22 - 2:26and deduce that respiration was
controlled by muscles and nerves. -
2:26 - 2:31But these wild experiments also produced
extraordinary misconceptions. -
2:31 - 2:36Galen never realized that blood cycles
continuously throughout the body. -
2:36 - 2:41Instead, he believed the liver constantly
produces an endless supply of blood, -
2:41 - 2:46which gets entirely depleted on its
one-way trip to the organs. -
2:46 - 2:52Galen is also credited with solidifying
the popular theory of the Four Humours. -
2:52 - 2:55Introduced by Hippocrates
centuries earlier, -
2:55 - 2:59this misguided hypothesis attributed most
medical problems -
2:59 - 3:03to an imbalance in four bodily fluids
called humours. -
3:03 - 3:07To correct the balance of these fluids,
doctors employed dangerous treatments -
3:07 - 3:10like bloodletting and purging.
-
3:10 - 3:13Informed by his poor understanding
of the circulatory system, -
3:13 - 3:16Galen was a strong proponent
of these treatments, -
3:16 - 3:19despite their sometimes lethal
consequences. -
3:19 - 3:23Unfortunately, Galen’s ego
drove him to believe that -
3:23 - 3:26all his discoveries were
of the utmost importance. -
3:26 - 3:31He penned treatises on everything from
anatomy to nutrition to bedside manner, -
3:31 - 3:36meticulously cataloguing his writings
to ensure their preservation. -
3:36 - 3:37Over the next 13 centuries,
-
3:37 - 3:42Galen’s prolific collection dominated
all other schools of medical thought. -
3:42 - 3:47His texts became the standard works
taught to new generations of doctors, -
3:47 - 3:52who in turn, wrote new essays extolling
Galen’s ideas. -
3:52 - 3:55Even doctors who actually dissected
human cadavers -
3:55 - 3:59would bafflingly repeat Galen’s mistakes,
-
3:59 - 4:02despite seeing clear evidence
to the contrary. -
4:02 - 4:06Meanwhile, the few practitioners bold
enough to offer conflicting opinions -
4:06 - 4:09were either ignored or ridiculed.
-
4:09 - 4:14For 1,300 years, Galen’s legacy
remained untouchable– -
4:14 - 4:18until renaissance anatomist Vesalius
spoke out against him. -
4:18 - 4:21As a prominent scientist and lecturer,
-
4:21 - 4:24his authority influenced many young
doctors of his time. -
4:24 - 4:27But even then, it took another
hundred years -
4:27 - 4:31for an accurate description
of blood flow to emerge, -
4:31 - 4:36and two hundred more for the theory
of the Four Humours to fade. -
4:36 - 4:39Hopefully, today we can reap the benefits
of Galen’s experiments -
4:39 - 4:44without attributing equal credence
to his less accurate ideas. -
4:44 - 4:46But perhaps just as valuable
-
4:46 - 4:50is the reminder that science is an
ever-evolving process, -
4:50 - 4:54which should always place
evidence above ego.
- Title:
- Ancient Rome's most notorious doctor - Ramon Glazov
- Speaker:
- Ramon Glazov
- Description:
-
View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/ancient-rome-s-most-notorious-doctor-ramon-glazov
In the 16th century, an anatomist named Andreas Vesalius made a shocking discovery: the most famous human anatomy texts in the world were wrong. While Vesalius knew he was right, announcing the errors would mean challenging Galen of Pergamon. Who was this towering figure? And why was he still revered and feared 1,300 years later? Ramon Glazov profiles the most renowned physician in medical history.
Lesson by Ramon Glazov, directed by Anton Bogaty.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TED-Ed
- Duration:
- 04:54
Florencia Bracamonte commented on English subtitles for Ancient Rome's most notorious doctor | ||
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lauren mcalpine accepted English subtitles for Ancient Rome's most notorious doctor | ||
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Tara Ahmadinejad edited English subtitles for Ancient Rome's most notorious doctor | ||
Tara Ahmadinejad edited English subtitles for Ancient Rome's most notorious doctor |
Florencia Bracamonte
I believe the adjective in 1:20 - 1:25 is "grisly", not "grizzly".