Human Dissection Essay

Body snatching was only one way of acquiring cadavers for research. Some methods were legal, others were illegal. Legal acquiries of bodies included: deaths where foul play was suspected, a donated body from a family, and executed felons (Lawrence). Heresy, treason, murder, robbery, larceny, rape, and arson were all crimes that could be punishable by death, allowing the bodies to be used for dissection. In fact, King Henry showed his support for the use of executed felons’ bodies when he “. . . authorized a law in 1540 giving surgeons the bodies of four hanged criminals a year” (“Crime and Punishment in Elizabethan England”). The illegal methods of acquiring bodies included grave robbing and taking the unclaimed bodies of the poor.

In chapter one of, Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, Mary Roach talks about using corpses (cadavers) to demonstrate medical procedures. Mary Roach, joins a facial anatomy and face lift review class during the beginning of her book, where she watched physicians practice on lifeless bodies with no heads. Roach gathered an understanding that detached heads can be extremely intimidating, even for trained professionals. Mary Roach asks one of the physicians, Theresa, how she handles working with these detached heads on a daily basis. Theresa explained that she always imagined the heads to be made of wax when she worked with them. Later the chapter one, Mary Roach clarifies that “objectification is the coping mechanism.” (Roach, 2004. Page 56) The coping mechanism permits specialists to divide “the object” which looks like a living human without having emotions attached.

The skeletal system is made up of cartilage and bone. Both bone and cartilage are connective tissues, that is, they are composed of cells in a matrix with intracellular fibers. Just imagine connective tissue as a gelatin salad with grapes and coconut. The grapes would represent cells, the gelatin the support material for matrix, and the pieces of coconut the intracellular fibers. By changing the amounts of each ingredient and adding extra substances, we can produce a material that is very hard like bone and can withstand weight or softer like cartilage which can be used as a cushioning material.

Science has played a role in the debate over the death penalty for some time. One question concerning science and the death penalty include, questioning the ethical appeal of using executed bodies for anatomical research. People can understand the benefit of doing so since the bodies are “fresh” and they allow researchers more control of their subjects, since they know how the person died, when the person died, and the exact time of death; etc. but the concern is encompassed around the consent and knowledge of the criminal about how their bodies will be used after their execution. Another issue is the people who administer lethal injections are rarely properly qualified due to many physicians refusing to participate in the executions. Anatomists have been using the bodies of executed criminals for years, but there is a need for an ethical law code regarding where and how anatomists acquire bodies. (HILDEBRANDT) This is because some people question using executed criminals for research since they are usually not asked or aware of the potential use of their bodies after death.

In the reading “The Brown Girl’s Guide to Labels” by Mathangi Subramanian, the author talks about the obstacles she faced growing up as a minority and the different lives her white friends lived compared to her. Growing up as a minority myself, I can relate to some of the experiences Subramanian had. One thing that really caught my attention was how Subramanian never viewed herself as a feminist because “only white girls call themselves that”. I also had a problem with this and never really viewed myself as a feminist until this class. I found it extremely interesting that the author never truly labeled herself a feminist even after her mother declared herself as one until she read an article written by Chandra Mohanty,

Andreas Vesalius published a book entitled “The Fabric of the Human Body” which was published around the time that printing first came about. His specialism was anatomy, and in the book that he

A mink is a good specimen to study the human anatomy because it is so closely related in internal features to that of a human being. Since these features are so closely related it provides a sort of “model” that can be used in order to better understand the anatomy of humans.

The concentration of dissolved substances is less in the extracellular fluid than in the cytoplasm. Hypotonic Solution Concentration of dissolved substances (solute) Concentration of water (solvent) What happens to an animal cells? Inside the cell Greater Less Outside the cell Less Greater Membrane

The reason an artist like Rembrandt be especially drawn to representing its dissection in “The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp” is because this is perhaps the of the first public anatomy demonstration. Since it is one of the first one ever done, he wanted to show us the process on recording the information and to get a feel of the students are looking at. For example, Dr. Tulp is showing the others what muscles will tense as the hand and arm are moving around. Also we see Dr. Hartman Hartmanszoon holds the drawing of the body and later has the whole process of the dissection.

To study the inner anatomy of the human body, scientists needed cadavers, or dead bodies, to dissect. At this time, there was very limited access to cadavers, which led to body snatching, also known as grave robbing, becoming extremely common. Surgeons and anatomists would go

The similarities, and differences, between Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn’s Anatomy of Dr. Tulp (1632) and Thomas Eakins’ The Agnew Clinic (1889) are both uncanny and unprecedented. Painted in 1630’s Amsterdam during the Dutch Baroque period, Rembrandt sought to preserve the rare occasion in which a real human body was used as an academic tool in order to prove anatomy theories. On the contrary, Eakins piece was painted in 19th century America during the realist movement to memorialize a retiring professor. However, it is their similarities that make them comparable; they were both commissioned by academic institutions, they both depict a surgery in progress, they both celebrate the careers of notable

1. Answer all questions with material that explains your answer. Yes/no answers receive NO credit.

For the past two-hundred years, dissection of the human cadaver has been the gold standard for teaching aspiring medical professionals the networking and layout of the human body. Surprisingly, cadaver usage has had a rather curious history.

At the age of 38, Leonardo started to conduct extensive studies on the human eyes and it was also his early studies on optics that led him to pursue the field of anatomy. Being a successful artist earned him the right to dissect human corpses at various hospitals in Florence as well as Milan. With this advantage, Leonardo became the first anatomist to create anatomical portraits of the human body. His illustrations of human’s as well as other animals’ anatomy and physiology showed not only the appearance but also the functions of the parts that were illustrated. Most if not all of his sketches were incredibly accurate and identical to the ones that scientists use today.

From the dawn of time, the primitive beings that wandered the face of this earth have always been fascinated and curious about the perplexing human body. They have pondered upon the mysteries that lie dormant within the vessel and the potential of what it could do. Even today, after millions of years have passed, anatomists still have yet to explore the human body completely and uncover all its complexity. Along with the advancement of our knowledge in terms of anatomy and physiology, the concept of health has also evolved. In fact, the human body and health go together like peanut butter and jelly; you cannot have one without the other. Unlike the approved definition used in the past, health is much more than the “absence of disease” and having a fit body. This paper will present you my rendition of the definition of health and my personal reflections on the health-related readings presented in this course so far.