William Hunter's aristocratic post mortems.

William Hunter's writings, lectures and his collection of circa 1,400 pathological specimens at the University of Glasgow show that, within the scientific limitations of the 18th Century, he had a sound grasp of the significance of morbid anatomical appearances. Unlike John Hunter's collection at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, few of the Hunterian specimens at Glasgow have an accompanying case history. Within the Special Collections at the Glasgow University Library are a small number of post mortem reports, including four involving William Hunter's aristocratic patients. This article explores these patient cases, and also the only instance recorded by John Hunter of William working with him on a post mortem of an aristocrat, that of the Marquis of Rockingham, Prime Minister, who died in 1782. The study aims to better understand William Hunter's medical practice and his professional connections with other practitioners. The post mortem examinations were carried out by a surgeon/anatomist and observed by the patient's physician(s). For aristocratic post mortems, those attending were senior and well-established practitioners. The notes made were not particularly detailed. The reports show clearly that William Hunter's practice, in the 1760s at least, was not confined to midwifery.

Trnka Vaclav - Central European Anatomist and Medical Polymath of the Eighteenth Century.

Vaclav Trnka from Krovice (1739-1791, in Latin: Wenzel Trnka Krzowitz) was a remarkable physician whose life serves as an example in the history of medicine by connecting major capital cities of Central Europe. In view of current geographical layout, he was born and brought up in the Czech Republic, graduated from University of Vienna in Austria, and was appointed Professor of the Anatomy at the newly established Faculty of Medicine of University of Nagyszombat, presently Trnava in Slovak Republic. When the University moved to Buda and later to Pest (today Budapest, Hungary), he was the first educator to introduce anatomy as a medical subject to be taught in a Hungarian medical school. He also was elected the Dean of Faculty of Medicine three times and in 1786-1787 he acted as Rector of then the Royal University of Pest. During his life, he published twenty-seven monographs dealing with different areas of clinical medicine, such as malaria (intermittent fever), diabetes, and rickets. Based on these monographs we can proclaim that Václav Trnka was a co-founder of modern infectology, diabetology and ophthalmology in Central Europe. Nowadays, artificial intelligence and bioinformatics are inseparable parts of modern health care system which help the transformation of big data into valuable knowledge. In the 18th century, Professor Trnka owned more than 3,000 scientific books and had natural, innate intelligence and wisdom which made him a real "medical polymath". As a musician, Trnka also composed sixty-one canons, two of them long wrongly considered as Mozart's work. Despite the fact that Trnka is considered to be the founder of Hungarian anatomy education and a major medical figure of the eighteenth century Central Europe, no internationally acclaimed biographical record of his life or work has so far been published in English. Therefore, we would like to reintroduce Václav Trnka both as an anatomist and medical polymath, and to give an overview of the early days of anatomy teaching in present-day Slovakia and Hungary (Fig. 1, Ref. 27). Keywords: Trnka from Krovice, anatomist, medical polymath, history of medicine.

Iulius Casserius, a relatively underestimated anatomist: his contributions to brain's anatomy.

Iulius Casserius is to be remembered for his excellent contributions in Anatomy and especially in Neuroanatomy. His persistent and meticulous scientific anatomical work resulted in the first record of the arterial circle of the brain 37 years before the comprehensive description by Thomas Willis. Casserius' great interest in the human brain led him to the discovery of plenty anatomical structures before their official documentation. Casserius was an excellent teacher and anatomist of a humble origin, who managed to be distinguished among other famous physicians of his era.

Antoine Ferrein (1693-1769)-His Life and Contribution to Anatomy and Physiology: The Description of the Vocal Chords and Their Function.

The purpose of this study is to summarize the life and work of the French anatomist and surgeon Antoine Ferrein (1693-1769). Ferrein made an impact in the history of anatomy and physiology through his work and especially with the description of phonation, renal anatomy, and liver and biliary structure. He also made an impact on ophthalmology with the description of the eyelid and its diseases. After a thorough review of the literature, we present in this review his life and his main discoveries with special emphasis on the anatomic description of the vocal chords resembling the chords of a violin tempered by the air exhaled from the lungs and how the physiology of phonation and the surgery of the larynx were revolutionized after that.

Josias Weitbrecht, the founder of syndesmology, and the history of the retinacula of Weitbrecht.

"Syndesmologia siue historia ligamentorum corporis humani", published in 1742 by a German anatomist Josias Weitbrecht (1702-1747), who for a long time lived and worked in St. Petersburg, is the first comprehensive textbook of syndesmology. The accuracy and quality of the accompanying illustrations are fascinating, even after almost 300 years. Weitbrecht was also the first to describe the synovial folds of the hip joint, later named after him as the retinacula of Weitbrecht. This eponym appeared in the first half of the nineteenth century in the studies of femoral neck fractures published in the UK. In the study of syndesmology, Weitbrecht was followed by a number of outstanding authors of that time, such as Meckel, Barkow, Arnold, Henle, Humphry and Fick.

The Anatomy of Papal Tiara: A Story About Popes' Contribution and Protection of Anatomists.

Beginning with the thirteenth century, the papacy has exerted an important role in the development of anatomy and medical sciences through the protection and support provided to anatomists, who were in most cases the personal physicians of the popes as well. The work is intended to be a lesson of anatomy of Papal tiara, presenting the most important contributing popes, the anatomists-physicians whom they supported and protected and the relations between papacy and medical sciences.

The influence of ancient Greek thought on fifteenth century anatomy: Galenic influence and Leonardo da Vinci.

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) can be called one of the earliest contributors to the history of anatomy and, by extension, the study of medicine. He may have even overshadowed Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564), the so-called founder of human anatomy, if his works had been published within his lifetime. While some of the best illustrations of their time, with our modern knowledge of anatomy, it is clear that many of da Vinci's depictions of human anatomy are inaccurate. However, he also made significant discoveries in anatomy and remarkable predictions of facts he could not yet discover with the technology available to him. Additionally, da Vinci was largely influenced by Greek anatomists, as indicated from his ideas about anatomical structure. In this historical review, we describe da Vinci's history, influences, and discoveries in anatomical research and his depictions and errors with regards to the musculoskeletal system, cardiovascular system, nervous system, and other organs.

Leonardo da Vinci: engineer, bioengineer, anatomist, and artist.

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) enjoys a reputation as one of the most talented people of all time in the history of science and the arts. However, little attention has been given to his contributions to physiology. One of his main interests was engineering, and he was fascinated by structural problems and the flow patterns of liquids. He also produced a large number of ingenious designs for warfare and a variety of highly original flying machines. But of particular interest to us are his contributions to bioengineering and how he used his knowledge of basic physical principles to throw light on physiological function. For example, he produced new insights into the mechanics of breathing including the action of the ribs and diaphragm. He was the first person to understand the different roles of the internal and external intercostal muscles. He had novel ideas about the airways including the mode of airflow in them. He also worked on the cardiovascular system and had a special interest in the pulmonary circulation. But, interestingly, he was not able to completely divorce his views from those of Galen, in that although he could not see pores in the interventricular septum of the heart, one of his drawings included them. Leonardo was a talented anatomist who made many striking drawings of the human body. Finally, his reputation for many people is based on his paintings including the Mona Lisa that apparently attracts more viewers than any other painting in the world.

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) and his depictions of the human spine.

INTRODUCTION: Few individuals in history have exerted so great an influence and made such extensive contributions to so many disciplines as Leonardo da Vinci. Da Vinci's inquisitive, experimental mentality led him to many discoveries, such as spinal cord function and the proper anatomy of several organ systems. Respected not only as an artist but also as an anatomist, he made many significant contributions to the field. CONCLUSIONS: This article explores da Vinci's drawings, in relation to the anatomy of the human spine.

[Anatomist, Anti-Abortionist, Anti-Darwinian. The three lives of Erich Blechschmidt (1904­1992)]. / Anatom, Abtreibungsgegner, Antidarwinist. Die drei Leben des Erich Blechschmidt (1904­1992).

The so called "Blechschmidt-Collection" in Goettingen is internationally presented as a masterpiece of German anatomical and embryological research after 1945. Compiled by anatomist Erich Blechschmidt (1904­1992), the collection's pieces are supposed to be ethically unobjectable. However, the embryos used for the collection have an obscure and dubious history. Blechschmidt is also well known for his infamous role in the Thalidomide/Contergan-trial, during which he claimed, Thalidomide would not have any negative effect on embryos. Later in his life, he became a vehement opponent of Evolution theory and disputed the right for abortion. His example may serve as one of many university professors in his generation who were appointed during the later years of the nazi regime, quickly regained their position after 1945 and continued their former research. Until now, this group did not receive appropriate scrutiny from critically minded historians.

The platypus in Edinburgh: Robert Jameson, Robert Knox and the place of the Ornithorhynchus in nature, 1821-24.

The duck-billed platypus, or Ornithorhynchus, was the subject of an intense debate among natural historians in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Its paradoxical mixture of mammalian, avian and reptilian characteristics made it something of a taxonomic conundrum. In the early 1820s Robert Jameson (1774-1854), the professor of natural history at the University of Edinburgh and the curator of the University's natural history museum, was able to acquire three valuable specimens of this species. He passed one of these on to the anatomist Robert Knox (1791-1862), who dissected the animal and presented his results in a series of papers to the Wernerian Natural History Society, which later published them in its Memoirs. This paper takes Jameson's platypus as a case study on how natural history specimens were used to create and contest knowledge of the natural world in the early nineteenth century, at a time when interpretations of the relationships between animal taxa were in a state of flux. It shows how Jameson used his possession of this interesting specimen to provide a valuable opportunity for his protégé Knox while also helping to consolidate his own position as a key figure in early nineteenth-century natural history.

William Cruikshank (1745-1800), anatomist and surgeon, and his illustrious patient, Samuel Johnson.

William Cumberland Cruikshank (1745-1800) was a Scot who from 1771 until his death taught anatomy at the famous school of anatomy in Great Windmill Street, London, founded by William Hunter (1718-1783). Arguably, his most famous patient was Samuel Johnson, the celebrated 18th Century man of letters and author of the first English dictionary. This article, largely drawn from Johnson's correspondence, documents the medical condition that caused Johnson to consult Cruikshank and some of the social links between Johnson, Hunter, and Cruikshank.

Daniel Mollière (1848-1890): the French anatomist-surgeon who introduced Robin's pioneering osteoclast for the genu valgum observed in adolescents.

Inside the pages of the French medical treatises of the 19th century a forgotten osteoclast apparatus for the genu valgum observed in adolescents remained hidden waiting to be unearthed. It was Victor Robin's osteoclast, which has been used by the supreme French anatomist and surgeon Daniel Mollière. With the purpose to share a significant heritage on orthopaedics, a thorough research of the literature of the era was conducted. Our study resulted in the illumination of both Mollière's prolific figure and osteoclast's impact on orthopaedic surgery at that time. Having in mind Mollière's perseverance towards surgical apparatuses, his antiseptic measures inside his operating theatre, his published treatises, his surgical skills, we may effortlessly conclude that he stands among Lyon's best surgeons with an important contribution to orthopaedics.

More Vesalian Second Thoughts. The Annotations to the Institutiones anatomicae secundum Galeni sententiam, 1538.

In 1538 Andreas Vesalius published his unauthorised revision of Guinther von Andernach's little anatomical textbook, the Institutiones anatomicae. Immediately on publication he set to work on a further revision, making around 250 changes. This paper presents these changes for the first time, discussing them in the context of Vesalius as a reviser of his own work and as anatomist moving away from reliance on Galen towards the independence of the 1543 Fabrica. As well as simple proof corrections, the notes show corrections to Vesalius' earlier anatomical observations as well as page references to passages in Galen discussed at greater length in the Fabrica.

[Manuel Julián Grajales: propagator of smallpox vaccine in South America. Anatomist and surgeon]. / Manuel Julián Grajales: Propagador de la vacuna antivariólica en América del Sur. Anatomista y cirujano.

Grajales came to Chile in December 1807, noting that since 1805 smallpox vaccination had been introduced by Fray Pedro Manuel Chaparro, supported by the Councilor Nicholas Matorras. He founded the Vaccination Boards of Valparaiso and Santiago in 1808 and became professor of anatomy and surgery in 1819. In 1823 he received his authorization to practice medicine. He wanted to finish his medical studies at the University of San Marcos in Lima, but the war of Independence made this impossible. He returned to Spain in 1825. In 1848, he became Member of Honor of the Faculty of Medicine, Universidad de Chile.

DEFINING A DISCOVERY: PRIORITY AND METHODOLOGICAL CONTROVERSY IN EARLY NINETEENTH-CENTURY ANATOMY.

In the early nineteenth century, Charles Bell and François Magendie engaged in a decades-long priority dispute over the discovery of the roots of motor and sensory nerves. The constantly recalibrated arguments of its participants illuminate changes in the life sciences during that period. When Bell first wrote about the nerves in 1811, surgeon-anatomists ran small schools out of their homes, natural theology was in vogue, exchanges between British and French medical practitioners were limited by the Napoleonic Wars, and British practitioners typically rejected experimental physiology and vivisection. By the end of Magendie's career, medical science was produced in the laboratory, taught through artfully produced performances of the sort at which Magendie excelled, and disseminated through journals. It is not entirely clear which historical character, Bell or Magendie, 'won' the dispute, nor that they even had clear and consistent positions in it, but what is clear is that one style of science had won out over the other, and over the course of the dispute, pedagogy lost pride of place in medical science.

Analysis of the ethical issues in authorship of collaborative research. Observations inspired by the historical case study of Gerard L. Blaes' (Blasius) claim to sole authorship of 'Anatome medullae spinalis'.

This paper discusses the historical context of collaborative research and authorship disputes, exemplified by the complex relationship between Dutch anatomist and physician Gerard L. Blaes and his East-Central European mentee, Daniel Gödtke, during the study of medulla spinalis. The study employs historical analysis to unravel the dynamics of scholarly collaboration, emphasizing the significance of mentorship in scientific progress and the communal nature of knowledge exchange. This historical analysis is based on primary sources and historical records. It underscores Blaes's strategy to circumvent public confrontations regarding the authorship of the seminal work 'Anatome medullae spinalis, et nervorum inde provenientium' (1666). As a teacher, he facilitated his student's participation in a public disputation to avert public authorship conflicts over the book. This ultimately led to the publication of two distinct versions of 'Anatome medullae spinalis.' The first one was co-authored by the mentor and his mentee, while the latter was solely attributed to the mentor. This historical narrative raises essential questions about attributing individual contributions in medical sciences, echoing concerns still pertinent in contemporary academia. Additionally, it makes visible the power dynamics inherent in faculty-students relationships and the potential repercussions of authorship disputes on scholars' reputations. By drawing parallels between historical and modern authorship dilemmas, this study contributes to ongoing discussions on equitable authorship in scientific research and publishing. It not only highlights a historical precedent for the complex dynamics of mentor-mentee collaborations and authorship disputes but also illuminates how these practices continue to influence contemporary academic and publishing customs.

Robert Liston (1794-1847): surgical anatomist and resurrectionist with an interest in hydrocephalus.

INTRODUCTION: The Scottish surgeon Robert Liston was an accomplished anatomist of the nineteenth century. The study of anatomy during this day was often overshadowed by the so-called resurrectionists. CONCLUSIONS: The present historic paper reviews the life and contributions of Robert Liston and discusses his fascination with childhood hydrocephalus.