Harvey's Predecessor

Galen, also known as Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus.

Galen of Pergamon

Galen was a philosopher who lived from 130-200 CE. His high levels of education helped shape medicine as we see it today.

He studied the human skeleton and the practice of autopsy in Egypt and studied anatomy by the dissection of monkeys and other animals. Galen’s first career as a surgeon was in Rome, where he became a surgeon to the gladiators.

Galen, as a pluralist, dealt with the four elements of earth, air, fire and water and the theories of hot, cold, wet and dry in order to describe the material of mixtures. This was used for drugs in order to counteract the natural fluids of the body. Galen continued his study of biological science research from studying other great philosophers such as Aristotle and Plato.

Galen’s most influential practice was his discovery of the Hippocratic theory involving the four humors: phlegm, blood, black bile and yellow bile. These four human body fluids needed to be in perfect harmony otherwise the emotional level will be off and the patient will become ill. Sanguine (blood), Choleric (yellow bile), Melancholic (black bile), phlegmatic (phlegm).

·      If there was too much blood the body will be cheerfully optimistic

·      If there is too much yellow bile the body will be bad-tempered or irritable

·      If there is too much black bile the body will be deep, pensive, and sad

·      If there is too much phlegm the patient will be calm and unemotional

William Harvey displaced this theory with the theory of the systematic circulation of blood that is still utilized today.

WebMD Symptoms:

Overly excited: excess blood

Prescribe leeches to reduce amount of blood in the body.
---Side effects: decrease in white blood cells which inhibits ability to fight diseases which can lead to death

Angry/crazy: excess yellow bile

Prescribe hellebore supposed to cure madness. It is a poisonous winter-flowering Eurasian plant of the buttercup family, typically having 5 leaves and large white greenish, purplish flowers.

---Side effects: vertigo, stupor, extreme thirst, feelings of suffocation, swelled tongue and throat, vomiting, eventual death by cardiac arrest

 Prescribe opium: a reddish brown heavy scented addictive drug prepared from the juice of opium poppy. It is used as a narcotic and medicine in analgesic.

---Side effects: inability to feel pain; painlessness

Sad: excess black bile

Prescribe scammony weed (plant of the morning glory family, the dried roots which yielded a strong purgative). Make into a juice to be consumed.

---Side effects: too much juice equals vomiting which can lead to death

Unemotional: excess phlegm

Prescribe Aurum Potabile (drinkable gold) supposed to give you longevity, energy, youth and beaut
---Side effects: neurological disorders, cancer, and susceptible to infections.

Prescribe mercury or quicksilver (liquid form of mercury).

---Side effects: mood changes. Able to quickly change your mood

Other Medical Practitioners during Harvey's Time

During medieval times and through the 1600s it was common for barbers, who were adept with scissors, to apply their knowledge to more dangerous occupations such as surgery. As such, they were known by the simple title “barber-surgeon.” Often working on battlefields, they were also found in cities like London and rarely had much formal training. Additionally, apothecaries were often given the same trust as physicians and regularly prescribed remedies to the sick. Yet, like the barber-surgeons, they had little to no training and could easily kill their patrons with a miscalculated prescription. In May 1616 William Harvey and a number of other physicians begged King Charles I to place heavy restrictions on apothecaries. The King agreed and issued forth a decree limiting them. This included not allowing apothecaries to prescribe anything a physician had not already approved for the patient. Yet, this was a difficult rule to enforce and it was estimated that only 30 out of the 150 apothecaries complied with the new law at the time. Furthermore, nobles continued to have a personal apothecaries in their homes to take care of their family.