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Arch Facial Plast Surg. 2001;3:220-221.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

THE GREEK physician Galen (129-200 AD) is one of the most influential figures in the history of medicine. His teachings regarding anatomy and physiology were considered medical dogma for more than 1000 years. He showed that nerves arise from the central nervous system, that veins connect to the heart, and that arteries contain blood and not air. He described the nerves to the larynx, the anatomy of the spinal cord, and the skeletal and muscular systems. However, since dissection of the human body was forbidden during the time of Galen, his knowledge was derived from animal dissection, principally the Barbary ape. Despite Galen's shortcomings, one is astonished at the wealth of accurate detail in his writings.

The teachings of Galen were unquestioned for nearly 1500 years, until the appearance of a young Flemish anatomist by the name of Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564). Vesalius was born in Brussels, Belgium, and educated in . . . [Full Text of this Article]