History Of Anatomy - First Part PDF
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Iuliu Hațieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy
Prof. Dr. Cristian Bârsu
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This document details the history of anatomy, focusing on early examples of anatomical knowledge. It discusses cave paintings, ancient Egyptian mummification techniques, and the study of human remains as significant milestones in the evolution of anatomical understanding. The document highlights the roots of morphological knowledge, while also discussing evidence of ancient anatomical knowledge across various civilizations and the practices used to preserve the deceased.
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**HISTORY OF ANATOMY** First part Prof. Dr. Cristian Bârsu **Attention** **This course support is intended exclusively for students from the Faculty of Medicine of the \"Iuliu Haţieganu\" University of Medicine and Pharmacy.** **That is why the course support should not be broadcast by any mean...
**HISTORY OF ANATOMY** First part Prof. Dr. Cristian Bârsu **Attention** **This course support is intended exclusively for students from the Faculty of Medicine of the \"Iuliu Haţieganu\" University of Medicine and Pharmacy.** **That is why the course support should not be broadcast by any means outside the academic community of the " Iuliu Haţieganu" U. M. F.** THE ROOTS OF MORPHOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE During the primitive commune, humans had very little knowledge of anatomy, but it was very rudimentary. There are various proofs in this regard. A. **Cave paintings in caves,** depicting hunting scenes; in these paintings, people were drawn in a simplistic, but correct way: a cephalic eminence, two upper limbs, two lower limbs. Animals were also sketched. Some had a red area on their body, where, if the hunter pierced with an arrow, the animal would die immediately. Later, by analogy with the human body, it was discovered to be the precordial zone. B\) The statuettes - **the "Venus of Willendorf"** - represent women with unusual obesity (some researchers have called these representations - steatopic women). Interestingly, the statuettes did not have the facial features outlined. The statuettes found in Willendorf were named \"Venus of Willendorf\". The hypotheses of these representations: a particular type of women? a symbol of fertility? a sickness? C\) The **trepanned human skulls**, which had holes in the skull cap, attest to the fact that rudimentary operations were performed on the brain. These cranial trepanations must be analyzed according to the following criteria: 1\) location of the hole: usually this is done in the parietal area, but in practice it is more in the temporal area. On the other hand, we were never done that in the frontal area. 2\) number of holes: 1 to 2 holes. 3\) dimensions: from 1 to 1.5 cm in diameter. 4\) purpose: to reduce the headache (the pain) which was caused by various intracranial illnesses. The causes of could have been: an encephalitis, a post traumatic hematoma or a tumor. In addition, this technique was also practiced on corpses; it was possible to retrieve a roundel from the bony skull of a deceased person, which was dear to us. Hypothesis: trepanations would have been performed on corpses, as part of practical training. 5\) shape: round, or oval. 6\) evolution: positive = healing, with formation of new tissues; negative = death, from sepsis or hypovolemic shock, due to high blood loss (because a venous sinus was damaged during trepanation). 7\) Complications: local infection or significant bleeding (in patients with coagulation deficits). ANATOMY DURING ANTIQUITY Evidence of the existence of anatomical knowledge has been mentioned in most of the writings of various ancient civilizations. Famous examples from antiquity are: burnt clay molds, papyri and anatomical drawings. All of these are sources of information that bear witness to the progressive development of anatomy. ► The first anatomical data were found in Mesopotamia, among the Assyro-Babylonian peoples. They studied the anatomy of animals. The most well-known was the structure of the sheep\'s liver. Archaeological research has uncovered clay molds that represent the underside of sheep\'s liver. The Babylonians used these molds to establish (empirically) the prognosis of various diseases in humans. ► In ancient Egypt, the existence of anatomical data was evidenced directly - by medical papyri and indirectly - by the existence of embalming techniques. ♦ However, papyri (e. g. „Edwin Smith" papyrus, „Ebers" papyrus, Brugsch "papyrus etc.) contain names of diseases, remedies, recipes, but very few anatomy names. For Egyptians, most anatomical knowledge came from embalming procedures. The best developed procedures for the preservation of human and animal bodies - mummification - was a funeral ritual. The Egyptians prepared the mummies of the most famous people, but also the mummies of certain animals considered sacred, by performing a real embalming ritual. The preparation of the mummies attests to the fact that the Egyptians knew the anatomy of the human body and of certain animals. The evisceration was done with great care. The brain was removed from the cranial cavity through the ceiling of the nasal cavities. Internal organs were placed in special aromatic solutions, in tightly closed containers. The body was impregnated (embalmed) in special substances and wrapped in cotton bands. The mummy thus prepared was placed in a wooden sarcophagus, most often built according to the shape of the body. Over time, knowledge of anatomy has been increased thanks to: \- the preservation of corpses (by embalming) \- and dissections (on animals and humans). ► **The Brugsch papyrus** -- also known as the "Grand Papyrus of Berlin" or "the Berlin Papyrus", or "Brugsch\'s Papyrus" -- is an important Egyptian medical papyrus. It is discovered by the Italian collector Giuseppe Passalacqua (1797-1965) in Saqqarah, Egypt. Frederick William IV of Prussia acquired it in 1827 for the Ägyptisches Museum in Berlin where it is still preserved. The papyrus was studied by the German Egyptologist Heinrich Karl Brugsch (1827-1894), but translated and published by another the German Egyptologist --Walter Wreszinsk (1880-1935), in 1909. - This papyrus is very similar with the Ebers Papyrus Organ descriptions have been recorded in the **Ebers Papyrus**: \- the heart (related to the vessels that carry each member\'s head); vessels, nose, lungs, mouth with teeth and gums, eyelids and eyes, bones -- even the skull (where the cranial sutures were known), lower jaw, spine with vertebrae, genitals, bladder and anus. \- In 1873, this papyrus was discovered in Luxor, by the German Egyptologist Georg Moritz Ebers (1837-1898). ► The **Edwin Smith Papyrus** is an ancient Egyptian medical text. It is the oldest known surgical text on trauma. Its name was given because the American dealer and collector of antiquities Edwin Smith (1822-1906) bought it in 1862. This papyrus contains the first known descriptions of the cranial structures, the meninges and the surface of the brain ► Dissection in Ancient India \- The Treaty of Susruta Samhita (1000 BC) ◙ primary indications of the dissection technique ◙ descriptions of anatomical structures: bones, muscles, ligaments, vessels, stomach, duodenum, colon, gallbladder, kidneys.