Medicine + Technology + Art | Week 4

This week’s focus was on the human body and how medical technology has influenced new ways of we see ourselves, how are bodies are being manipulated, and how we are participating in this new culture through dissection. Human dissection has been around since the period of the Renaissance, where scientists would examine and preserve the human body. This fascination of human anatomy soon lead to new technological advancements that allowed for us to see even further what lies beneath our skin. 

The Human Anatomy

Andrea Vesalius, considered the founder of human anatomy, was the first to provide an accurate structure of the human body in his most famous work De Humani Corpoios Fabrica. His work emphasized the priority of dissection, but also outlined the  “anatomical” view of the body giving us the ability to see the internal functioning of the body. His book was a turning point in modern medicine that lead to new technological movements to help better improve our understanding of the body.

H.M.P.

MRI

For instance, The Human Microbiome Project identified and characterized the microorganisms that made up the entire body, cellular structure and bacteria.This project established the X Ray, invented by Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen in 1895, which used a new form of radiation that created magnetic resonance for imaging the body. Today, the X Ray is used in every initial tests of an injured person so that doctors can can a better image of what has happened. In addition to the X Ray, the MRI and CAT Scans were other technological achievements that have created an entirely new way to look at the anatomy of the body without having to cut open the human body.

X Ray

CAT Scan

These three inventions have helped doctors to diagnose cancer, tumors, broken bones, and other disease all through the help of resonance and radiation. I am amazed at how technology of the humanities has created new platforms to discovering the human anatomy as well as contributing to the field of medicine. It has changed our cultural dramatically, in a good way of course, that has helped scientists and doctors to cure disease at a more efficient rate.

Plastic Surgery

Lastly, the technology in medicine introduced the idea of plastic surgery. Plastic surgery evolved over four thousand years ago in ancient India. The word plastic does not entirely mean artificial, but rather "to give mold" or "to give form" (Lecture). The first U.S. plastic surgeon was Dr. Metur, during the time of WWI. During WWI, soldiers were exposed to chemicals and electricity that caused serious destruction to the body, thus plastic surgery was used to help restore. 

However, in today's society, plastic surgery has taken on the art form to express beauty. One particular artist that was mentioned was Orlan. She underwent countless operations to display beauty on her own body in front of live audiences. She created a composite image from selective features from renown paintings in history, like the Mona Lisa and Venus, and would surgically replicate the facial feature in each famous artwork onto her own body. Does this sound upsetting? Disturbing? To me, yes it is a little unsetting, but I guess art is about creation and going beyond any limit. 






























Citations 

"The Human Anatomy" <http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/images/history/vesal_fabri2big.jpg>

"H.M.P" <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Skin_Microbiome20169-300.jpg>

"X Ray" <http://en.es-static.us/upl/2013/10/x-ray-hands.jpg>

"MRI" <http://s.hswstatic.com/gif/mri-10.jpg>

"CAT Scan" <http://img.medscape.com/fullsize/migrated/405/410/mn0720.fig1.jpg>