The spleen in renaissance anatomy.
نویسنده
چکیده
AND INTRODUCTION IN THIS PAPER I shall be describing the ideas ofanatomists on the function and structure of the spleen from the beginning of the sixteenth century until the time of Veslingius in the middle of the seventeenth. The debates on the spleen had no happy outcome in the form of a successful or correct theory as was the case with the sixteenthand early seventeenth-century arguments on the vascular system. A case-study of the writings by renaissance writers on the spleen does not have the terminus ad quem of a successful theory to colour the interpretation of events. This allows the attitudes and practices of the anatomical writers to emerge more clearly. Therefore, this study of the spleen not only describes what happened to ideas on the function and structure of the spleen during the renaissance but it also attempts to throw light on the interplay between traditional authority, reason and experience in the work of the anatomists. The larger question at issue here is that of the originality of renaissance anatomists with regard to physiology. A detailed case-study is not enough to answer the question, but it can give us a deeper insight into the problem. What is striking from a present-day point of view is the contrast between the critical scrutiny of authority advanced by the anatomists of the sixteenth century and their practice as exemplified in the case of the spleen and melancholy. Despite the claims to originality, very few new ideas were brought forward in relation to the spleen's function. The alternatives to Galen's account mostly had their origin in Aristotle and in the pseudo-Galenic treatise De utilitate respirationis which embellished Aristotle's idea that the spleen was a bastard liver making poor-quality blood.
منابع مشابه
Roots of new of Anatomy in the Islamic and Iranian medical Sorces
SUMMARY Andreus veasalius is the father of anatomy and moderm anatomical scinces. the belgian phyaician (Veasalius)made a considerable of padoa university in Italy, and also after the publication of his famous book about the human body factory" reached the new peak. However in contrary to the belif of medical and eastern historians Veasalius was not quite inventive. he had used the Islamic med...
متن کاملEffects of Different Pressures of CO2 on P33 Tumor Inhibitor Gene in Liver and Spleen Tissues During CO2 Pneumoperitoneum in Adult Rats
Introduction: We aimed to study the effects of different CO2 pressures on expression of P33 gene and apoptosis in liver and spleen cells during CO2 pneumoperitoneum. Methods: This study was performed on 30 male Sprague-Dawley rats, weighing between 280 and 340 g (procured from Tehran Pasteur Institute’s animal house). They were randomly divided into 3 equal groups. Groups 1 a...
متن کاملExamining the Relationship between “Science” and “Religion” in Socio-Cultural Context of the Renaissance: A Kuhnian Reading of Bacon’s New Atlantis
Thomas Kuhn’s model of paradigm shift as an intra-systemic framework to account for changes within the scientific discourse has been adopted by scholars in different fields as diverse as sociology, theology, economy, and education, to name only a few. The present study argues that the same model can usefully be drawn upon to examine the relationship between ‘science’ and ‘religion’ with some re...
متن کاملAndreas Vesalius as a renaissance innovative neuroanatomist: his 5 centenary of birth Andreas Vesalius como neuroanatomista inovador renascentista: seu 5° centenário de nascimento
Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564) is considered the Father of Modern Anatomy, and an authentic representative of the Renaissance. His studies, founded on dissection of human bodies, differed from Galeno, who based his work on dissection of animals, constituted a notable scientific advance. Putting together science and art, Vesalius associated himself to artists of the Renaissance, and valued the ima...
متن کاملذخیره در منابع من
با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید
عنوان ژورنال:
- Medical History
دوره 21 شماره
صفحات -
تاریخ انتشار 1977