FIRESIDE BELLOWS Simple fireside bellows were used in a number of early experiments which were fundamental to understanding the mechanics of breathing 1-3. It was this understanding which then prompted others to try using the bellows to restore breathing. This early experimental work was done by Galen, Vesalius and Paracelsus. Bellows were formally adopted for resuscitation purposes by the Royal Humane Society, London, in 1782 4. Galen Claudius Galenius (more commonly known as Galen) was born in 130 AD in Pergamon, located in the west of modern day Turkey 1. Galen realised that a knowledge of anatomy was fundamental to understanding disease. Although some of his teachings were erroneous, he made remarkable discoveries based on animal dissections. Unfortunately, the dissection of human cadavers was prohibited at that time. Respiratory physiology interested Galen greatly, and he demonstrated that air entered the chest cavity when it was expanded by the contraction of the diaphragm. Further, he realised that the trachea (which he termed the "rough artery") was the conduit for air into and out of the lungs 1. In 177 AD, Galen used bellows to inflate the lungs of various animals * B.App.