History of anatomy in the 19th century

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

A dissected body, lying prone on a table – one of the series of anatomical paintings made by the 19th Century English painter Charles Landseer.

The

human anatomy of the previous century. The discipline also progressed to establish growing sources of knowledge in histology and developmental biology
, not only of humans but also of animals.

Anatomical science

Sommerring

Rudolph Wagner
. The arrangement of the edition is:

This was translated into French by Jourdan, and published in 1846 under the name of Encyclopedie anatomique. The eighth volume was translated into English in the year 1847.

Bichat

The Anatomie Generale of Xavier Bichat is a monument of his scientific ability and scholarship. His Anatomie Descriptive is distinguished by clear and natural arrangement, precise and accurate description, and the general ingenuity with which the subject is treated. The physiological observations are in general correct, often novel, and always highly interesting. Bichat died during the preparation of the third volume and the work was completed by P.J. Roux and M.F.R. Buisson.

Gray

Anatomy Act of 1832, the two worked for 18 months on what would form the basis of the book. Their work was first published in 1858.[1][2]

Social and political issues

Main articles: Sociopolitical issues of anatomy in America in the 19th century, Murder Act 1751, and Body snatching
The Master (1914), by Carlos Bonvalot, shows an Anatomy lesson in the early 20th century

The growth of medical science and medical practice created an increased demand for human cadavers for use in medical colleges, particularly for anatomy demonstrations. Before the 19th century, most were bodies of executed criminals or, more rarely, corpses donated by relatives. The reason being, having the body dissected after death was considered to be a fate worse than death.[3][4] The Murder Act of 1752 permitted that the bodies of murderers be dissected after death to contribute to medical knowledge.[4] After the criminal was hanged, medical students would be there as the body was taken down from the gallows and would argue over who would dissect the body, making the anatomist as feared as the executioner himself.[4]

As demand began to outstrip supply, shortage of corpses often discouraged medical schools from scrutinizing their suppliers too closely. Criminal elements were attracted to the lucrative trade and

guineas for each cadaver accepted.[3]

The practices of the body snatchers caused widespread fear and revulsion as the indignities and humiliation of exhumation were compounded by the horror of being the subject of dissection. The criminal temptations ultimately led to the 1827–1828

West Port murders in Edinburgh, UK, where likely candidates were killed and sold for cash. The murders led to the passing of the Anatomy Act 1832
which finally provided for an adequate and legitimate supply of corpses.

Bibliography

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 9780191623387
    .
  2. ^ Gray, Henry; Carter, Henry Vandyke (1858), Anatomy Descriptive and Surgical, London: John W. Parker and Son, retrieved 16 October 2011
  3. ^
    ISBN 978-0-393-32482-2
    .
  4. ^
    ISBN 9781845193812
    .

External links
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