I reviewed Sharon Mullin’s paper titled “The Saga of The Iris Giant’s Bone.” Sharon presented the detailed information and historical perspectives on this topic as well as medical practices involving ethical issues.
This paper is also a narrative of a man named Charles Byrne with unusual height (7ft 7in), lived in Ireland during 1793. He suffered from gigantism (familial pituitary adenoma), made a living showing of his height but worried about he would be subjected to medical experiment after his death. Hence, he had specific instructions that his body should be weighted down and buried in the sea. Another player in this paper was Dr. John Hunter, respectable member of the society, a surgeon and the founder of pathological anatomy in England who retrieved the body…show more content…
It is quite fascinating because we have come a long way; still, there was and is always be the ethical debate between medical researchers, politics, policies and the patients or the participants. Sharon raised the good question about what happens to our bodies after we die? We all hoped that our wishes will be carried out after our death but in the case of Byrne it didn’t happen. If his wishes would had been carried out, we wouldn’t know what we know today about this disorder familial pituitary adenoma. It appeared to be double edge sword. Dr. Hunter’s collections of bones made it to the museum and the museum named after him. His contributions to medical scientific community made him famous, people didn’t asked questions how he acquired those body particularly the famous Charles Byrne. On the other hand, Charles Byrne wishes were unfulfilled. If Charles Byrne was born in upper class in the society, would his body put on display? Did Dr. Hunter compensate his family members or did he just paid the body snatchers? These are the questions came to my mind, after reading Sharon’s
It is quite fascinating because we have come a long way; still, there was and is always be the ethical debate between medical researchers, politics, policies and the patients or the participants. Sharon raised the good question about what happens to our bodies after we die? We all hoped that our wishes will be carried out after our death but in the case of Byrne it didn’t happen. If his wishes would had been carried out, we wouldn’t know what we know today about this disorder familial pituitary adenoma. It appeared to be double edge sword. Dr. Hunter’s collections of bones made it to the museum and the museum named after him. His contributions to medical scientific community made him famous, people didn’t asked questions how he acquired those body particularly the famous Charles Byrne. On the other hand, Charles Byrne wishes were unfulfilled. If Charles Byrne was born in upper class in the society, would his body put on display? Did Dr. Hunter compensate his family members or did he just paid the body snatchers? These are the questions came to my mind, after reading Sharon’s
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