Tag: Galen
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Bloody art
Francesca Portante d’AlessandroRome, Italy Blood has always been depicted in art, from cavemen’s hunts, to medieval altarpieces and battle scenes, to modern film and photography. Blood is able to simultaneously represent both life and death, the sacred and profane, violence and martyrdom, disease and healing, purity and impurity.1 Its meaning, however, can also vary depending…
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There is power in the blood
Mark TanNorthwest Deanery, UK “Carne fa carne e vino fa sango” [Meat makes flesh and wine makes blood]— Italian proverb Laura was covered in blood when the paramedics arrived at her house. Her husband, in a state of shock, had gathered every available towel in the vicinity, but it seemed too little and too late.…
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Joseph Andrews by Henry Fielding and the reputation of the medical profession 1742
Sally MetzlerChicago, Illinois, United States In his first published novel from 1742, Henry Fielding chronicles the journey and foibles of three principle characters: the amenable Parson Adams, the so-called beautiful wench Fanny, and her paramour Joseph Andrews—the namesake of the novel.1 Adventures and misadventures befall the young protagonist Andrews, none the least falling in love…
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Berengario da Carpi, pre-Vesalian anatomist (1460–1530)
Berengario da Carpi was the most important anatomist of the generation preceding the so-called Anatomical Trinity of Vesalius, Fallopio, and Eustachio. He is regarded as one of the founders of scientific anatomy, challenging the reliance on ancient texts and emphasizing the primacy of direct observation based on dissecting the human body. A prolific author, he…
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Where philosophy and medicine overlap
Mariami ShanshashviliTbilisi, Georgia In Plato’s Charmides there is a remark by Socrates that is neither distinctively impressive nor remarkably original but interesting for the notably broad range of references, including the perception characteristic to ancient Greeks, the origins of the Greek medicine, and the philosophy of Empedocles, Alcmaeon, and other Pre-Socratics.1 In this passage young…
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Leonardo’s anatomical studies: From ancient imaginations to meticulous observations
Julia KingNew York, United States Leonardo da Vinci was a “Renaissance man” in the truest sense, contributing his inexhaustible talent to many fields, including anatomy. In a time when medicine was still rudimentary and dissection was viewed with disdain, Leonardo plowed through with his keen intellectual curiosity and honed draughtsman skills. His work on anatomy…
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The revolution of Andreas Vesalius
Fabio ZampieriAlberto ZanattaPadua, Italy Born in Brussels in 1514, Andreas Vesalius studied Latin, Greek, and Hebrew in Leuven, and medicine in Paris. Arriving in Padua, at that time “the most famous gymnasium in the world,” he graduated in medicine in 1537 and was professor of anatomy from 1538 to 1543.1 In Padua, Vesalius would have…
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Neuroanatomy: A transition in understanding and observation
Charlene OngSt. Louis, Missouri, United States Western medicine’s understanding of neuroanatomy over the last several millennia has reflected the dynamic cultural values and social norms regarding the human body and its function. The journey that culminated in accurate and reproducible representations of the brain required a tolerance of human inquiry, advances in preservation technology, and…