GALEN ON THE COMPOSITION OF MEDICINES

original Greek: ΓΑΛΗΝΟΥ ΠΕΡΙ ΣΥΝΘΕΣΕΩΣ ΦΑΡΜΑΚΩΝ

Edition of Chartier XIII. [524. 525.] \ \ \ \ \ Edition of Basel II. (255.)

...artery, they wrote even for one that is ulcerated.
This phrase completes the final sentence of the previous page, which listed the various throat conditions these medicines were meant to address.
Consequently, it is reasonable that those who use so-called arterial medicines without distinction sometimes succeed in their treatment. At other times, however, they do not help the sufferers at all. Instead, they cause the greatest harm. It is clear that they blame the rough artery trachea for these types of conditions.

In ancient times, physicians did not use the name "artery" for the vessels that pulse in the same way as the heart. They applied the name "artery" only to the vessel rising from the lungs to the throat larynx. They generally used the name "veins" for both the pulsating vessels and those that do not pulse.

Later, as the custom took hold to use the name "artery" for the pulsating vessels, physicians added the word "rough" tracheia to the name because of the shared terminology. They called the vessel descending from the throat to the lungs the "rough artery." They also call it the "bronchus" bronchos. This is because they call the cartilaginous bodies, which make up the largest part of its substance, "bronchia."

A thick membrane coats the inside of the artery. Because of its thickness, some call it a "coat" chiton or "tunic." When, therefore, some condition occurs...
The text breaks off here as the discussion moves toward specific pathologies of the respiratory membranes.