Ancient Rome’s most notorious doctor - Ramon Glazov

譯者: Regina Chu 審譯者: Marssi Draw

In the middle of the 16th century,

十六世紀中期

a talented young anatomist named Andreas Vesalius made a shocking discovery:

一位聰穎的年輕解剖學家 名為安德雷亞斯·維薩里

發現了一件驚人的事

the most famous human anatomy texts in the world were wrong.

世上赫赫有名的人類解剖學 教科書都寫錯了！

They not only failed to account for many details of the human body,

它們不但沒有寫對人體的細節

they also described the organs of apes and other mammals.

還描述了猿類及其他哺乳類的器官

While Vesalius knew he was right,

即使維薩里知道他是對的

announcing these errors would mean challenging Galen of Pergamon–

宣布這些錯誤代表要挑戰蓋倫

the most renowned physician in medical history.

醫學史上最著名的醫師

But who was this towering figure?

這位高高在上的傑出人物是誰？

And why did doctors working more than 1,300 years later so revere and fear him?

為什麼一千三百年後的醫師 會對他又敬又怕？

Born in 129 CE,

蓋倫出生於西元 129 年

Galen left home as a teen to scour the Mediterranean for medical wisdom.

他在青少年時離家 跑遍地中海尋求醫學知識

He returned home a gifted surgeon with a passion for anatomy

他返鄉時已經是一位天才外科醫師 並對解剖學充滿熱情

and a penchant for showmanship.

還超愛表演

He gleefully entered public anatomy contests,

他興高采烈地參加解剖公開賽

eager to show up his fellow physicians.

熱切地想在同行前大現一番

In one demonstration,

在某個示範教學上

he caused a pig to lose its voice by tying off one of its nerves.

他把一頭豬的神經紮起來 讓牠失去聲音

In another, he disemboweled a monkey and challenged his colleagues to repair it.

在另一場示範中

他把一隻猴子開膛剖腹取其內臟 還挑戰他的同行把牠復原

When they couldn’t, he did.

他們不行；但他可以

These grizzly feats won him a position as surgeon to the city’s gladiators.

這些恐怖的表演為他贏得一席之地 成為當地角鬥士的外科醫師

Eventually, he would leave the arena to become the personal physician

他最終離開了競技場

當上四位羅馬大帝的御醫

to four Roman Emperors.

While his peers debated symptoms and their origins,

在他的同儕爭辯著症狀及病因的同時

Galen obsessively studied anatomy.

蓋倫痴迷地研究解剖學

He was convinced that each organ had a specific function.

他深深相信每個器官 都有其獨特的功能

Since the Roman government largely prohibited working with human cadavers,

因為羅馬政府不准解剖大體

Galen conducted countless dissections of animals instead.

蓋倫只好拿無數隻動物來解剖

Even with this constraint,

即使在這樣的限制下

his exhaustive investigations yielded some remarkably accurate conclusions.

他徹頭徹尾地調查 還是得到了一些非常正確的結論

One of Galen’s most important contributions

蓋倫有項極為重要的貢獻

was the insight that the brain, not the heart, controlled the body.

就是洞悉了大腦——而非心臟—— 才是控制身體的主宰

He confirmed this theory by opening the cranium of a living cow.

他打開一頭活牛的頭蓋骨 以證明這項理論

By applying pressure to different parts of the brain,

他在牛腦的不同部位施加壓力

he could link various regions to specific functions.

將各個區域跟特定功能連起來

Other experiments allowed him to distinguish sensory from motor nerves,

還有些實驗讓他能區分 感覺及運動神經

establish that urine was made in the kidneys,

證實尿液是由腎臟製造

and deduce that respiration was controlled by muscles and nerves.

並推斷出呼吸是由肌肉及神經控制

But these wild experiments also produced extraordinary misconceptions.

但是這些瘋狂的實驗 也產生非常離譜的誤解

Galen never realized that blood cycles continuously throughout the body.

蓋倫從未意識到血液在體中 其實是循環不息

Instead, he believed the liver constantly produces an endless supply of blood,

他一直以為是肝臟 在源源不斷地製造並供應血液

which gets entirely depleted on its one-way trip to the organs.

單向運送到各個器官後就消耗殆盡

Galen is also credited with solidifying the popular theory of the Four Humours.

蓋倫也有功於鞏固 廣為流傳的四體液學說

Introduced by Hippocrates centuries earlier,

這項學說在幾個世紀之先 由希波克拉底首先提出

this misguided hypothesis attributed most medical problems

而這項錯誤的假設 把大多數的健康問題歸因於

to an imbalance in four bodily fluids called humours.

身體內稱為體液的四種液體不平衡

To correct the balance of these fluids, doctors employed dangerous treatments

為了矯正這四種體液的平衡 醫師會用危險的治療法

like bloodletting and purging.

像是放血及淨化

Informed by his poor understanding of the circulatory system,

由於他自己對循環系統的理解不足

Galen was a strong proponent of these treatments,

蓋倫是這些治療法的強力支持者

despite their sometimes lethal consequences.

儘管有時候這些方法會有致命的後果

Unfortunately, Galen’s ego drove him to believe that

可惜的是，蓋倫的自負讓他相信

all his discoveries were of the utmost importance.

他的所有發現都極度重要

He penned treatises on everything from anatomy to nutrition to bedside manner,

他對每一件事都寫下論文

無論解剖、營養 還是醫生對病人的態度都有

meticulously cataloguing his writings to ensure their preservation.

還精心編目他的著作 確保它們被保存下來

Over the next 13 centuries,

之後的十三個世紀

Galen’s prolific collection dominated all other schools of medical thought.

蓋倫豐富的著作 主導了所有醫學院的思想

His texts became the standard works taught to new generations of doctors,

他的文章變成新一代醫師的教科書

who in turn, wrote new essays extolling Galen’s ideas.

他們又因此寫下新的論文 頌讚蓋倫的想法

Even doctors who actually dissected human cadavers

就算是真正解剖過大體的醫師

would bafflingly repeat Galen’s mistakes,

也會莫名其妙地重複蓋倫的錯誤

despite seeing clear evidence to the contrary.

即使已經親眼見到清楚的反證

Meanwhile, the few practitioners bold enough to offer conflicting opinions

同時，有幾個夠大膽的醫師 提出相反的意見

were either ignored or ridiculed.

也被忽視或嘲笑

For 1,300 years, Galen’s legacy remained untouchable–

一千三百年來

無人敢挑戰蓋倫留下來的傳統

until renaissance anatomist Vesalius spoke out against him.

直到文藝復興時代的解剖學家 維薩里出聲反對

As a prominent scientist and lecturer,

身為傑出的科學家及教師

his authority influenced many young doctors of his time.

他的權威影響了許多當代的年輕醫師

But even then, it took another hundred years

但即便如此，還是再等了數百年

for an accurate description of blood flow to emerge,

才出現對血流的正確描述

and two hundred more for the theory of the Four Humours to fade.

再經過二百多年 四體液學說才慢慢消失

Hopefully, today we can reap the benefits of Galen’s experiments

但願今天我們能從蓋倫的實驗中獲益

without attributing equal credence to his less accurate ideas.

不用對他不太正確的想法 給予同等的讚揚

But perhaps just as valuable

但是同樣有價值的

is the reminder that science is an ever-evolving process,

也許是提醒我們 科學是不斷演變的過程

which should always place evidence above ego.

應該始終把證據擺在自負之上