Professor Helen King (Professor of Classical Studies, The Open University) delivers the 2011 McGovern Lecture.
The notion of a 'body of fluids' being replaced by a 'body of organs' is widespread in the history of Western medicine, and the female body is seen as more 'fluid' than the male body. Yet, despite such claims, recent work on the pre-modern period has focused on anatomy rather than physiology. In this lecture, Professor King examines contemporary assumptions about the history of the body and the role of physiology in past societies.
