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Galen
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Galen of Pergamum
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Galen of Pergamum
Galen of Pergamum Galen of Pergamum, undated lithograph.

Galen

Greek physician
Also known as: Galenos, Galenus
Written by
Vivian Nutton
Professor of the History of Medicine, University College London, University of London. Author of From Democedes to Harvey.
Vivian Nutton
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Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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History

Galen (born 129 ce, Pergamum, Mysia, Anatolia [now Bergama, Turkey]—died c. 216) was a Greek physician, writer, and philosopher who exercised a dominant influence on medical theory and practice in Europe from the Middle Ages until the mid-17th century. His authority in the Byzantine world and the Muslim Middle East was similarly long-lived. The son of a wealthy architect, Galen was educated as a philosopher and man of letters. His hometown, Pergamum, was the site...

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