history fyi galen a physician in second century rome dissected pigs and goats and is known as the father of vivisection this claim comes from a section on the lpag site that says then during second century rome a physician named galen began to dissect animals because church protocol did not allow human autopsies he began to dissect goats and pigs and compared his findings to what he knew about humans he is now known as the father of vivisection following this citation back it comes from greek cr greek js sacred cows and golden geese the continuum international publishing group inc new york new york which in turn is based on a passage from hans ruesch's slaughter of the innocent from and galen worked as a doctor to gladiators at pergamum this was around the time that christians were being persecuted by roman authorities and used as dispoable items in the games galen undoubtedly had opportunity to examine many ripped and torn human bodies and there is no reason to imagine that he would not have been allowed to fiddle about on dying christians though i've come across no records that he did church protocol in this referenced passage is a claim not supported by the historical setting here's a statement from another website vivisection originated in second century rome when galen physician to gladiators was prevented from continuing his dissections of human cadavers by the church led moral opposition he switched his attention to goats and monkeys instead and thus became the 'father of vivisection' and another in second century rome the state supported church frowned upon the co called desecration of human corpses and autopsies were outlawed with no human bodies to learn from the respected physician to the gladiators galen had little choice but to cut up pigs and other animals hence earning him the title 'father of vivisection ' this is a widespread claim undermined when it is realized that christians had no standing in the roman empire during galen's time what is very likely is that galen learned things about human physiology from seeing so many people ripped apart stabbed clubbed mauled and otherwise opened to inspection he probably sought to test his conjectures about what all this exposed tissue actualy did by dissecting living animals at a tme when no real pain relief was available a person in his position must have grown innured to seeing others' agony this would have made his animal victims' cries unremarkable to him a more believable source observes under nero in the st century ad even the torture of christians became a star attraction at the circus caligulas there were few protests against such marketable massacres just another example of the way that questionable claims become fact in today's virtual world becareful about what you read and cite