History of Science 2220 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Organ Transplantation, Ancient Greek Sculpture, Comparative Anatomy
2 May 2018
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Chapter 2 Notes
The Fabricated Body: History of Anatomy
Anatomy is the structure of the human body.
Structure explanations of disease were long considered secondary to those of function (physiology).
‘anatomy’ is derived from the Greek work
anatome,
meaning dissection,
o It implies cutting, but also structure (morphology) – the shape, size and relationships of
body parts.
o Also a metaphor for the analysis of any problem
Medicine is the study of disease and its treatments.
To understand disease, doctors focus on abnormalities of structure and function, which are the objects
of the complementary disciplines of anatomy and physiology.
Medical cultures that emphasized the study of anatomy peaked centuries ago, in Alexandria, then
declined, peaked again during the Renaissance, then declined, and peaked again in the last century.
Three themes recur throughout the history of anatomy:
1. Ambivalence, or ‘approach-avoidance.’ Should anatomical dissection be allowed or not? The
desire to learn about illness often conflicted with religious or cultural aversions to the notion of
cutting up dead bodies.
2. ‘The gift of art to medicine.’ The expression of anatomical wisdom relied on visual forms of
communication.
3. Anatomical study separate from medical wisdom. The pursuit of anatomy in art or science did not
imply equal status in medicine.
Dissection and Anatomical Ideas in Antiquity
The elaborate burial practices of the ancient Egyptians provided frequent opportunities for the
observation of body parts.
o Embalmers were very skilled at situating and extracting organs through tiny holes and slits in the
body.
o Unlike the embalmers and graphic artists, however, the physicians do not appear to have used
anatomy.
Egyptian explanations of disease seem to have emphasized physiology, in which breath was the essence
of life.
o Blood vessels were hypothesized not known, and only a few organs were connected with specific
functions.
o Some organs were associated with certain deities and used as hieroglyphics.
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ex. A stylized uterus, or
sa
, represented the goddess of child- birth. Because this symbol
was bicornuate (had two horns), scholars think that the model may have been animal
rather than human.
Ancient Greek sculpture reflects a preoccupation with the accurate portrayal of surface anatomy, with
attention to the underlying muscles and bones.
Votive offerings left at temples by sick people hoping for cures were fashioned from clay or stone
to resemble afflicted body parts – uterus, breasts, bladder, and limbs.
Despite these artistic influences and their skill in observation, Greek doctors were not especially
interested in anatomy.
Dissection of human bodies was forbidden, and funeral practices centred on cremation.
Function was more important than structure.
Explanation of illness relied on the four elements (earth, air, fire, and water) and their four cognate
humours inside the body.
Given the laws and funeral customs, few opportunities arose for examination of internal structures of
humans.
Exceptions are found in Hippocratic treatises on fractures and dislocations, which reveal extensive
knowledge of bones and joints
Illustration is essential to the teaching of anatomy, and the ban on dissection did not extend to animals.
The 4thC. philosopher and biologist Aristotle appears to have used large diagrams when he taught
the comparative anatomy of animals. (none of the original drawings survived)
After about 300 B.C., the city of Alexandria permitted dissection of the bodies of criminals, alive or
dead. These public demonstrations were designed to horrify as much as instruct.
The fact that the practice was reserved for criminals indicates the social ambivalence regarding
dissection, which could be seen as a desecration.
Galen was born in 129 A.D. He served as a physician to the gladiators, and may have taken advantage of
gaping wounds to observe internal structures.
He deplored the laws that forbade human dissection; at least three of his many treatises were devoted to
human anatomy, ostensibly as understood by the Alexandrians.
He dissected animals, both living and dead, his preferred subjects being the pig and the monkey.
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Document Summary
Anatomy is the structure of the human body. Structure explanations of disease were long considered secondary to those of function (physiology). Anatomy" is derived from the greek work anatome, meaning dissection: it implies cutting, but also structure (morphology) the shape, size and relationships of body parts, also a metaphor for the analysis of any problem. Medicine is the study of disease and its treatments. To understand disease, doctors focus on abnormalities of structure and function, which are the objects of the complementary disciplines of anatomy and physiology. Medical cultures that emphasized the study of anatomy peaked centuries ago, in alexandria, then declined, peaked again during the renaissance, then declined, and peaked again in the last century. The pursuit of anatomy in art or science did not imply equal status in medicine. A stylized uterus, or sa, represented the goddess of child- birth.
