The book that results from this project will be the first comprehensive study of the case histories in the work of Galen of Pergamon, and the first major social-historical study of Galen's clinical practice. Galen was a second-century physician of the Roman Empire and author of a vast corpus of work that was the basis of medical knowledge and training in the West through the eighteenth century. While most of his work is theoretical and technical in nature, he also recounts anecdotes from his own experience, including hundreds of stories about his treatment of specific patients. These """"""""case histories"""""""" illuminate important social aspects of Greco-Roman medicine, such as the public and competitive nature of medicine, the social makeup of an urban physician's practice, the medical treatment of women, and Galen's concept of professionalism. They will form the research base for the project. The first part of the book will examine the stories themselves, exploring their style, narrative structure, and aims. Some of their most striking features are Galen's insistent use of the first person, his portrayal of himself as miracle-worker or intellectual virtuoso, and his emphasis on his public victories over rivals. All of these suggest the profoundly agonistic character of medical society, and illustrate the prominent role of the spectacular in medicine. The book's second chapter will focus on the patients in Galen's stories. """"""""Typical"""""""" patients are urban males in the prime of life; but separate discussions will also focus on Galen's treatment of women, peasants, slaves, craftsmen, children, and the class of Greek urban intellectuals (including philosophers, sophists, and other doctors) with whom he identifies himself most directly. The third and final section of the book will focus on Galen as medical practitioner, examining the nature of his relationships with his patients, including how he feels about them and how he responds to his own failures, when they die. It will also describe his routine of visits to patients and the practical aspects of how he diagnosed and treated patients.
