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History of anatomy

What is Anatomy?
• Human anatomy is the science concerned
with the structure of the human body.
Terminology: It’s Greek to me!

• The terms of anatomy are


descriptive and are generally of
Greek or Latin derivation.
Alexandria, Egypt
• The study of anatomy flourished in Alexandria
between 300-150 B.C.

• Only criminals were allowed to be dissected


because these early cultures were very
superstitious and believed that an intact body
was necessary for a successful afterlife.
Early Egyptians
• Perfected the science of
mummification.

• Major organs were


removed and placed in
jars.
• Body cavity was filled
with a “sawdust-like”
material.
• Body was wrapped in
linen cloth shrouds.
Roman Influence
• In 30 B.C. Alexandria was
conquered by the Roman
Empire.
• The Romans were
interested in power,
wealth and military
strength, not in
anatomical studies.
• Romans outlawed
anatomical studies and
human dissections.
Galen of Pergamen
120-300 A.D.
Galen of Pergamen
• One of the brightest spots in the early
history of anatomy was the work of Greek
physician named Galen (120-300 A.D.)
• Galen had been trained in the Alexandrian
tradition and wanted to further the
scientific study of the human body.
Claudius Galen
• Roman
physician,
“team doctor”
for the
gladiators.
• Kept them alive
so they could
fight again.
Galen’s Work
• Because human dissections were
outlawed by the Romans, Galen wrote an
anatomy textbook based on his
dissections of the Barbary ape, a primate
similar to man.
• While the text was helpful it had many
inaccuracies.
The Barbary Ape
Galen’s Work

• His mistake was to assume that


humans and animals were identical
internally.
• His writings were taken as “law” for
hundred of years.
Title Page of Galen’s Anatomy Text
Illustration from Galen’s Text
Early
anatomical
drawing based
on
misinformation.
Galen’s Influence
• Galen’s anatomy
textbook, based on
the dissection of the
Barbary ape, became
the accepted authority
on human anatomy
for 1300 years!
The Dark Ages (400 – 1100 A.D.)
• Barbarians from
Asia, such as Attila
and the Huns,
overran and
destroyed the Roman
Empire.
• Many of the scientific
writings were
destroyed.
Dark Ages

• Fortunately some of
these documents
were salvaged by the
Moslems and
translated into their
language, Arabic.
Rediscovery
• About 1100 A.D.,
Christian scholars
discovered these Arabic
translations and began
the slow process of
translating them into
Latin.
• This exposed a wealth of
lost and forgotten
information.
• Not until the 16th century
were these works finally
translated.
First Autopsy
• In the year 1286 we
have reference to a
human dissection
being performed to
determine the cause
of death.
• Today, this procedure
is called an autopsy.
Rise of Medical Schools
• By the early 1300’s anatomical studies were
again becoming fashionable.

• In the medical schools in Italy anatomy


professors were highly respected figures and so
they would sit in large throne-like chairs, wear
academic robes, and read from the re-translated
text of Galen.
Rise of Medical Schools
• Barbers actually
performed the
dissections on human
subjects while
students stood and
observed.
• Students were not
allowed to participate
in the dissections.
A Major Contribution
• During the early Renaissance years,
artists, sculptors and painters strove to
make their artwork as human and life-like
as possible.
• To do this, they had to study human
anatomy on a first-hand basis; that is, they
had to perform their own human
dissections.
A Major Contribution
• One of the most famous
of these Renaissance
artists was Leonardo
DaVinci.
• His anatomically accurate
drawings gave to
anatomists for the first
time illustrations with
correct anatomical
proportions and great
attention to detail.
Mona Lisa
DaVinci’s “Last Supper”
Leonardo’s Anatomy Drawings
Leonardo’s Anatomy Drawings
Andreas Vesalius
• The man who
revolutionized the study
of anatomy was Andreas
Vesalius.
• He realized that to learn
anatomy students needed
to be involved with the
dissections.
• He also realized that
Galen’s textbook was
severely flawed and must
be replaced.
Andreas Vesalius
• Vesalius revolutionized the study of
anatomy by doing away with the barbers,
instead doing human dissections himself
and having students assist instead of just
observe.
• He also published his own anatomy
textbook which contained many
anatomically accurate drawings based on
human dissections.
De Humani Corporis Fabrica (1543)
De Humani Corporis Fabrica
De Humani Corporis Fabrica
De Humani Corporis Fabrica
Killing Sacred Cows
• Vesalius introduced the idea of “killing
sacred cows”, that is, challenging
accepted authority for the purpose of
improving it.
• Because of his revolutionary work at the
University of Padua, Andreas Vesalius is
considered to be the “Father of Modern
Anatomy”
Fabricius
• Vesalius was
replaced at the
University of Padua
by a man named
Fabricius.
• Fabricius discovered
the presence of one-
way valves in veins,
he called them the
“little doors”.
“Little Doors”
William Harvey
• The English physician, William
Harvey, a student of Fabricius,
became interested in the
circulation of the blood.
• Harvey was the first person to
describe the heart as a pump
for blood and he also described
arteries and veins as blood
vessels that carry blood
throughout the body.
William Harvey
• Harvey showed that
“function can be
inferred from
structure” and thus
became known as the
“Father of
Physiology”.
Marcello Malpighi
• With the development of
the microscope, the
Italian anatomist, Marcello
Malpighi was able to see
the tiny blood vessels that
Harvey could not see but
had predicted their
presence.
• These tiny vessels
Malpighi named
“capillaries”, which
means “hair-like” in Latin.
Shortage of cadavers
• In England and Scotland, medical
schools began to open.
• No one donated bodies to science –
church goers believed in literal rising
from grave, so dissection spoiled
chances of resurrection.
• Became a tradition to rely on
executed prisoners, even up to 18th
and 19th centuries.
Serious Crimes
• The added punishment of being
dissected after death was considered
another deterrent from crime.
• Ex. – Steal a pig: you were hung
• Kill a person: you were hung
and dissected
• Anatomists were often associated
with executioners.
Grave Robbing
• Some medical students raided grave
yards; some professors did also.
• In certain Scottish schools in 1700s,
you could trade a corpse for your
tuition.
Resurrectionists
• By 1828 in London, body snatchers (or
resurrectionists) provided the medical
schools with corpses.

• Anatomy studies were only conducted from


October to May to avoid stench of
decomposition.
William Burke and William Hare
Circa 1828
• Two resurrectionists
• Hare owned a boarding house; he occasionally
killed a boarder who was late on rent. (Killed 15
of them)
• Did it by pressing pillow to man’s face while
Burke lay his body weight on top of victim.
Became known as “Burking.”
• Bones made into skeletons for medical school.
Skin used to make wallets.
Can a dead body be abused?
Gunther Von Hagens

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