Who Really Corrected Galen? A Factual Look at Islamic and European Contributions

Galen of Pergamon (129–200 CE) was one of the most influential medical figures of the ancient world. A Greek physician and philosopher, his teachings shaped medical practice across the Roman Empire and became the foundation of Western medicine for over 1,000 years. Galen compiled extensive works on anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, and disease theory. Most of his conclusions were based on logical reasoning and animal dissection, which made his work prone to inaccuracies when applied to human biology. Despite this, Galen's theories were treated as absolute truths in medieval Europe.

Over time, many of Galen’s medical claims were proven to be wrong. Muslim scholars from the Islamic Golden Age were the first to systematically analyze, test, and correct his errors through observation, clinical experience, and scientific reasoning. Their work laid the foundation for modern medicine long before the European Renaissance. Later on, European scholars built upon these corrections but were often credited as the original discoverers, while the Muslim contributions were ignored or forgotten.