The carotid and vertebral arteries discovery ­ initial findings / A descoberta das artérias carótidas e vertebrais ­ achados iniciais

The studies on the vascular system, including the cervicocephalic arteries (carotid and vertebral arteries), present a long trajectory, having their deep roots in the far past, considering the Western authors, having as representatives the Greek sages Alcmaeon, Diogenes, Hippocrates, Aristoteles, Rufus, and Galenus. They produced pivotal knowledge dissecting mainly cadavers of animals, and established solid bases for the later generations of scholars. The information assembled from these six authors makes it possible to build a quite clear picture of the vascular system, here specifically focused on the cervicocephalic arteries, and mainly of the extracranial segments. Thus, the carotid system became fairly well identified, origin, course, and name, as well as the origin of the still unnamed arteries running through the orifices of the transversal processes of the cervical vertebrae, and entering into the cranium. Almost all that was then known about human anatomy, since this period, and then throughout the Middle Ages, was extrapolated from animal dissections. This state of affairs was maintained until the 14th century, when human corpses dissections were again allowed.

Os estudos do sistema vascular, incluindo as artérias cervicocefálicas (artérias carótidas e vertebrais), apresentam um longo percurso, tendo suas raízes profundas no passado distante, considerando os autores ocidentais, tendo como representantes os doutos gregos Alcméon, Diógenes, Hipócrates, Aristóteles, Rufus e Galenus. Eles produziram conhecimento pivotal, dissecando principalmente cadáveres de animais e estabelecendo bases sólidas para as gerações futuras de estudiosos. A informação reunida desses seis autores permite construir um quadro bastante claro do sistema vascular, aqui focado especificamente nas artérias cervicocefálicas e principalmente nos seus segmentos extracranianos. Assim, o sistema carotídeo ficou bastante bem identificado, origem, trajeto e nome, assim como a origem das ainda não nomeadas artérias que percorrem os orifícios dos processos transversos das vértebras cervicais e entrando no crânio. Quase tudo que era conhecido sobre anatomia humana, desde esse período, e depois ao longo da Idade Média, foi extrapolado a partir de dissecções de animais. Esse estado de coisas foi mantido até o século 14, quando a dissecção de cadáveres humanos foi novamente permitida.

Summarizing the medieval anatomy of the head and brain in a single image: Magnus Hundt (1501) and Johann Dryander (1537) as transitional pre-Vesalian anatomists.

Of the early-sixteenth century pre-Vesalian anatomists, Magnus Hundt in 1501 and Johannes Eichmann (known as Johann Dryander) in 1537 both attempted to summarize the anatomy of the head and brain in a single complex figure. Dryander clearly based his illustration on the earlier one from Hundt, but he made several improvements, based in part on Dryander's own dissections. Whereas Hundt's entire monograph was medieval in character, Dryander's monograph was a mixture of medieval and early-modern frameworks; nevertheless, the corresponding illustrations of the anatomy of the head and brain in Hundt (1501) and Dryander (Dryandrum 1537) were both essentially medieval. This article examines in detail the symbology of both illustrations within the context of the medieval framework for neuroanatomy and neurophysiology. These two woodcuts of the head and brain provide the most detailed pictorial representation of medieval cranial anatomy in a printed book prior to the work of Andreas Vesalius in 1543.

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.

Jacob Winslow (1669-1760): The surprising legacy of an anatomist.

Jacob Winslow (1669-1760), a celebrated anatomist in his day, made his name publishing numerous medical treatises and writing the four-volume Anatomical exposition of the structure of the human body. He gives his name to the foramen of Winslow, and is credited with numerous significant findings in neuroanatomy and biomechanics. His life is characterised by meticulous devotion to his discipline and divided by a torturous religious conversion. In addition to his contributions to anatomy, he is famously remembered for his treatise on the uncertainty of the signs of death, which has influenced practices surrounding death down to the present day.

The life and legacy of William Keiller (1861-1931), anatomist, artist and curator.

After graduating in medicine from the Edinburgh Extramural School of Medicine, William Keiller trained in obstetrics and became anatomy lecturer at the Edinburgh College of Medicine for Women, where he successfully devised and developed an anatomical curriculum. In 1891, Keiller was appointed as the Professor of anatomy at the state medical department of the University of Texas, at the age of 30. He built up a nationally recognised anatomy department, museum and teaching curriculum informed by his experience in Edinburgh. Keiller left the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston a rich legacy, including anatomical specimens and drawings.

Del anatomista François Pourfour du Petit / The anatomist François Pourfour du Petit

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John Irvine Hunter (1898-1924): Australian Anatomist and Medical Educator.

This paper focuses on the short, but brilliant career of the Australian anatomist and medical educator, John Irvine Hunter. Hunter's biography is presented within the context of the early twentieth century anatomy and medical education. John Irvine Hunter was not only the youngest ever Professor of Anatomy at the University of Sydney, but he was also undeniably brilliant with regard to teaching and researching anatomy, physiology and anthropology. While his short career answered many questions in these fields, it raised more questions regarding what Hunter may have accomplished if only he had been given the chance. These unanswered questions have spawned what we now affectionately refer to as the "Hunter Legend". His most ambitious work on the dual innervation of striated muscle, while eventually disproven, formed an important stepping-stone in the bridging of anatomy and physiology. His thought-provoking concepts were viewed with much intrigue, and at the time were very well received. CONCLUSION: Hunter remains one of the most prominent and inspiring figures in the history of Australian anatomy and medicine.

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.

Charles Bell (1774-1842) and Natural Theology.

Sir Charles Bell, a 19th century surgeon, anatomist and artist, was heavily influenced by the religious practice of Natural Theology, a belief which implied that the world is created by an Intelligent Designer. In the 18th century, William Paley, later Rector of Bishop Wearmouth, wrote the seminal book about Natural Theology. Charles Bell who practised in London and Edinburgh used his artistic skills to underline his teaching of anatomy and surgery. Later, Bell wrote one of the eight Bridgewater Treatises on the Hand. Bell went on to illustrate the final edition of Paley's Natural Theology in which he demonstrated that proof of Design were to be found in the animal frame, reflecting his earlier work on art and human structure. It is concluded that Charles Bell and William Paley's ideals were in harmony with each other, holding the same belief about Creation. This paper argues that Bell's understanding and devotion to Natural Theology allowed him to accurately explain function, realism and expression in the human body, all revealing the direct influence of the Divine Creator.

John Hunter and the 'Healing Window' in the church of St Mary Abbots, Kensington, London.

During research into the reinterment in 1859 of John Hunter's remains in Westminster Abbey, it was learnt that there was 'a window to Hunter's memory' in St Mary Abbots church, Kensington, London. Research into that window shows that it in fact commemorates Hunter's residence within the parish, and that also of two other Kensington worthies. Their place of residence is identified, Hunter's is illustrated and a nice connexion is found with a window in Gloucester cathedral in memory of Drs Jenner and Baron.

William Rutherford Sanders (1828-1881), anatomist, physician, linguist and museum conservator.

William Rutherford Sanders spent a childhood and early student days divided between Edinburgh and Montpelier, France before graduating in Medicine in Edinburgh. An early interest in the spleen was encouraged by a two-year period in Europe where he became familiar with the work of Helmholtz, Bernard and Henle. Returning to Edinburgh, his growing experience led to the position of assistant in the Infirmary pathology department. He conducted classes in the University of Edinburgh and on behalf of the Royal Colleges became familiar with the museum of the Royal College of Surgeons where he was chosen as Conservator in 1853. Criticised by 20th century historians for concentrating on verbal teaching rather than on the conservation of the museum, Sanders became a consultant physician to the Royal Infirmary in 1861 and in 1869 Professor of General Pathology. Throughout these years, Sanders gave as much time as possible to the study of the structure and function of the spleen and to neurological disorders such as hemiplegia. His later life was interrupted by a series of illnesses commencing with an abdominal abscess. A prolonged convalescence allowed the resumption of work but deranged vision and hemiplegia preceded his death on 18 February 1881.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Is Anatomy dead?

Anatomy is often said to be the bread and butter of doctors, but in light of the ever-increasing additions to medical curricula and difficulties in teaching the subject, Anatomy has dropped out of favour with both staff and students, making way for the teaching of other new exciting specialties. In this paper, we highlight some of the new advances Anatomy has made in the recent years, demonstrating the relevance and potential clinical implications these discoveries can have, thus supporting the notion that Anatomy as a subject is still very much alive and exciting, as it was in the early days

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Leonardo da Vinci - ingenious anatomist: 500 years since the death of the famous erudite.

Born on April 15, 1452, in a modest family in a hamlet from Tuscany, Leonardo da Vinci became the unassailable icon of Renaissance. Pushed throughout his entire life by his relentless curiosity, he was a painter, draughtsman, sculptor, poet, musician, writer, engineer, stage designer, architect, physicist, astronomer, cartographer and anatomist. His earliest surviving anatomical drawings (ca. 1485-1493) include studies of the skull, meninges, brain and cerebral ventricles. He was the first to pith a frog, concluding that piercing the spinal medulla will result in immediate death - a completely unexpected result in that era. In an effort to better understand the origins of the sensory and motor functions of the brain - which at the time was believed to be in the ventricles - he developed a method of injecting hot wax into the ventricles of an ox. He was the first to correctly describe the four ventricles of the brain. Thus, he circumvented a 16 century-long flaw in the dissection technique, which did not allow the correct study of the shape of the ventricles - decapitation and drainage of fluids before study. Even though he was never formally educated in the study of medicine, his work continues to inspire us today, 500 years after his death.

Neuronomy, education, and outreach in neuroscience: A historical case study of Burt Green Wilder.

Burt Green Wilder (1841-1925) was a pioneering naturalist and anatomist who is historically known for his brain collection and for his contributions to neuroanatomical nomenclature. During his 42-year career, Wilder also used brain measurements for education and outreach, especially in regard to issues of race and gender. Additionally, Wilder influenced neuroscience education and acted as a scientific liaison to the public. For example, he designed early implementations of the sheep brain dissections that are still being conducted today, as well as likely conducted the first "Brain Day." This article reviews each of these topics, as well as others, with the aim of accurately placing Wilder in the history of neuroscience as a naturalist and anatomist who, among other achievements, pioneered the use of brain measurements for education and outreach.