Trepanation and more via Quigley's Cabinet by quigley@georgetown.edu (Quigley's Cabinet)
An illustration by Italian physician, anatomist, and inventor Guido of Vigevano (c. 1280-1349) depicting his idealized impression of the ancient technique of trepanation.
I have been meaning to do a post about trepanation and the news article I saw this morning about removing part of the skull to facilitate better brain scans is my catalyst. Trepanation (also known as trephination) is the intentional perforation of the skull, by gouging, cutting, scraping, or drilling a hole (caution). It is the oldest known surgery, dating back 10,000 years to the Stone Age. The ancient peoples of what are now Peru and Bolivia were particularly good at it - and did it in some cases to relieve the pressure of depressed fractures received in battle and in other cases ostensibly to release the malicious spirit causing a particular illness. An hour-long documentary about the procedure is available and the website is worth checking out, even though the link to the trailer seems misdirected.
I first heard of this surgery in the context of archaeology and paleopathology. I learned that physical anthroplogists can easily tell from an ancient trepanned skull whether the patient survived by examining the bone growth at the margins of the hole. It was shortly thereafter, due to my interest in weird news, that I found out about modern trepanning and the surprising number of do-it-yourselfers. The anecdotal evidence is that the self-surgery expands the consciousness in increasing the blood flow and cures ailments like depression and chronic fatigue syndrome. The positive effects have been experienced by Robert Lund of Brooklyn, who was trepanned involuntarily in the hospital after a brutal mugging. The International Trepanation Advocacy Group (ITAG) has led the movement to study the benefits of trepanation and to make it available as a voluntary procedure by the medical establishment once they are able to document the improved cerebral circulation.
As I continue to read about dissection in the preparation of my next book, I learn more and more about vivisection - the dissection of live subjects. In modern times, the term is applied to many forms of animal experimentation and many organizations exist to oppose it, including the American Anti-Vivisection Society (est.1883), National Anti-Vivisection Society (est. 1929), and In Defense of Animalstesting and instead about gaining anatomical knowledge. Vivisection dates back to ancient Greece (c. 500 B.C.), when optic nerves were cut to determine their relationship to vision. In classical antiquity, apes were used because their anatomy corresponded to humans. In the Middle Ages, vivisectionists tended to use pigs, while dogs were favored in the Renaissance. The procedures were performed to show the action of the heart, the motions of respiration, and the intricacies of generation. Greek physician working in Rome, Galen (129 A.D.-199/217 A.D.), is known as the "father of vivisection." He is depicted in a 1541 illustration vivisecting a pig (2nd image) to show that severing the laryngeal nerves renders an animal voiceless. The founder of modern human anatomy, Belgian physician Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564), vivisected animals, notably a pregnant dog. His student, Italian anatomy professor Realdo Colombo (c. 1516-1559), found the vivisection of dogs and other animals indispensible for acquiring physiologic knowledge - and sometimes performed them in his own home - but drew the line at dissecting humans. Colombo also objected to dissecting pigs, but only because they were too fat and noisy. English physician William Harvey (1578-1657) performed vivisections to accurately describe the circulation of blood by the heart, and to debunk many of Galen's beliefs.
Italian surgeon Marco Aurelio Severino (1580-1656) thought vivisection was invaluable, particularly in comparative anatomy, and established the discipline of zootomy, the dissection of animals. The belief of French philosopher Rene Descartes (1596-1650) that animals do not feel real pain influenced many vivisectionists, but by the 17th c. there were vocal objections, not only out of pity for the creatures but out of concern about the effect that their inhumane treatment had on their dissectors. Today's vivisection techniques require anesthesia and usually approval as "scientifically necessary" by an ethics review board. In biology classrooms, frogs are still vivisected to demonstrate the beating heart (click 3rd image for animation). (campaigning since 1983). But back in the day, it was not about product
In 1999, while visiting my sister and family then living in Orlando, I walked* through the iconic alligator jaws (2nd photo) to enjoy the many sights and sounds of Gatorland. The evidence is in the staged tourist shot I posed for (3rd photo) - my sister posed for one with a live snake around her neck and a lizard in her lap! The 100-acre park was established in 1949 and houses thousands of alligators and crocodiles, including some albinos. The animals can be seen from boardwalks and an observation tower, and high-jumping for chickens and being wrestled in live shows. The preserve also offers a petting zoo (not for the gators!) and an aviary.
The fire (1st photo) destroyed the front entrance, the gift shop, and some administrative offices, but the owners vowed to rebuild. "This park is like an old alligator. Gators fight, they get scarred up, they get beat up, they tear each other up, but they're resilient," Gatorland official Tim Williams said. By the end of the month, the park had reopened. Since then, they have made even more improvements to the 12th most popular attraction in the Orlando area, which draws 400,000 visitors each year. I'm glad to have been one of them!
*I was walking with a cane at that point, and remember having to sit down for a rest more than once because it was very hot.
Last night I watched a fantastic episode of "Nova" on PBS called "Riddles of the Sphynx," and I woke up this morning to news that a 2,ooo-year-old temple to the cat-goddess Bastet has been discovered in Alexandria. So here is a round-up (organized by date of news article) of the many archaeological discoveries of mummies in Egypt over the last few years that I have been compiling:
3/21/01 11 1,800-year-old mummies, including that of a small boy whose gold mask depicts him crying, in Bawiti
An illustration by Italian physician, anatomist, and inventor Guido of Vigevano (c. 1280-1349) depicting his idealized impression of the ancient technique of trepanation.
As I continue to read about dissection in the preparation of my next book, I learn more and more about vivisection - the dissection of live subjects. In modern times, the term is applied to many forms of animal experimentation and many organizations exist to oppose it, including the American Anti-Vivisection Society (est.1883), National Anti-Vivisection Society (est. 1929), and In Defense of Animalstesting and instead about gaining anatomical knowledge. Vivisection dates back to ancient Greece (c. 500 B.C.), when optic nerves were cut to determine their relationship to vision. In classical antiquity, apes were used because their anatomy corresponded to humans. In the Middle Ages, vivisectionists tended to use pigs, while dogs were favored in the Renaissance. The procedures were performed to show the action of the heart, the motions of respiration, and the intricacies of generation.
In 1999, while visiting my sister and family then living in Orlando, I walked* through the iconic alligator jaws (2nd photo) to enjoy the many sights and sounds of Gatorland. The evidence is in the staged tourist shot I posed for (3rd photo) - my sister posed for one with a live snake around her neck and a lizard in her lap! The 100-acre park was established in 1949 and houses thousands of alligators and crocodiles, including some albinos. The animals can be seen from boardwalks and an observation tower, and high-jumping for chickens and being wrestled in live shows. The preserve also offers a petting zoo (not for the gators!) and an aviary.
Last night I watched a fantastic episode of "Nova" on PBS called "Riddles of the Sphynx," and I woke up this morning to news that a 2,ooo-year-old temple to the cat-goddess Bastet has been discovered in Alexandria. So here is a round-up (organized by date of news article) of the many archaeological discoveries of mummies in Egypt over the last few years that I have been compiling:
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