Page:Greek Biology and Medicine.djvu/126

 I GREEK BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE as he did frequently, through the vivisection of animals, it was with masterly cleverness. Unquestionably Galen's over-aptness at find- ing a purpose and use for every organ, — a use and purpose which made the organ what it was — contributed to his dominance in the centuries after him. Today we are disposed to find his truer greatness in his investigation of the physiology of animals, by vivisection. For example, although the presence of some blood in the arteries had been sensed before him, he would seem to have been the first to demon- strate it. He was a great contributor to experi- mental physiology, though unfortunately he came at the close of the ancient time, when no man was to follow him to continue his dis- coveries. Says Dr. Garrison: " He was the first to describe the cranial nerves and the sympathetic system, made the first experimental sections of the spinal cord, producing hemiplegia; produced aphonia by cutting the recurrent laryngeal; and gave the first valid explanation of the mechanism of respiration. He showed that the arteries con- tain blood (by performing the Antyllus opera- tion), and demonstrated the motor power of the heart by showing that the blood pulsates [104]