Illustrating Galen’s physiological teaching
The basic principle of life, in the Galenic physiology, is a spirit, anima or pneuma, drawn from the general world-soul in the act of respiration. It enters the body through the rough artery (τραχεῖα ἀρτηρία, arteria aspera of mediaeval notation), the organ known to our nomenclature as the trachea. From this trachea the pneuma passes to the lung and then, through the vein-like artery (ἀρτηρία φλεβώδης, arteria venalis of mediaeval writers, the pulmonary vein of our nomenclature), to the left ventricle. Here it will be best to leave it for a moment and trace the vascular system along a different route.
Vertical section of the skull, showing the sinuses of the dura mater
Vertical section of the skull
Superficial veins of the head and neck
The arch of the aorta and its branches
The regions of the abdomen and their contents
Passage into trachea and esophagus; Pharynx
The right auricle and ventricle laid open
The root of the left lung
The cartilages of the larynx; the trachea and bronchi
Front view of the thorax
The Skull
The Spine
Skeleton
Lymphatics of the head and neck. B, the thoracic duct
Lymphatics of the leg.
A cross section of the skin
Plan of the foetal circulation