In the middle of the 16th century, a talented young anatomist named Andreas Vesalius made a shocking discovery:
They not only failed to account for many details of the human body, they also described the organs of apes and other mammals.
While Vesalius knew he was right, announcing these errors would mean challenging Galen of Pergamon– the most renowned physician in medical history.
But who was this towering figure?
And why did doctors working more than 1,300 years later so revere and fear him?
Born in 129 CE, Galen left home as a teen to scour the Mediterranean for medical wisdom.
He returned home a gifted surgeon with a passion for anatomy and a penchant for showmanship.
He gleefully entered public anatomy contests, eager to show up his fellow physicians.
In one demonstration, he caused a pig to lose its voice by tying off one of its nerves.
In another, he disemboweled a monkey and challenged his colleagues to repair it.
