Galen's article "On bones for beginners" was translated literally from the Greek text (Kühn's edition, vol. 2, pp. 732-778) into Japanese, applying the knowledge of modern anatomy. The previous Latin and English translations were utilized as references for the present translation. The present study has revealed that many of the current basic vocabularies for the bones and junctions were established already in Galen's treatises, but have changed their meanings and usages considerably. It has become also apparent that, for the skull, Galen did not observe individual bones but distinguished them by precise observations on the sutures of the skull in monkeys. The precise understanding of Galenic anatomy provides essential information to understand the origin of current anatomy.