History of the anatomy

The development of the anatomical study, for a long time was not parallel to the medico-surgical development. This currently obvious need, for the doctor, the surgeon or the imagor, was truly established only at the 19th century.

Primitive history of the anatomy

The practical Man of Néandertal a animal Anatomy for a utility Dissection (food, manufacture of tool…), it distinguishes: the Os, the articulation S, the Muscle S…

During the Paleolithic higher (- 30 000 years) appear the first charts, especially animal and sometimes human (Venus from Lespugue). It is a beginning of analysis of the forms, of very figurative aspect. It is established an outline of relation between the Anatomie and the Pathologie (example: the craniotomy S for the traumatism or the ritual ones). The Trépanation imposes an even summary anatomical knowledge cranium and of its contents.

It is at that time that appears the concept of being able and virtue of some Viscère S, and the behaviors anthropophagous S (Cœur, Foie, Cerveau).

Ancient time

In Mésopotamie towards 3500 av. J. - C., the anatomical knowledge is with the service of the Divinatory art. The analysis of the internal organs of sacrificed animals has very diverse predictive values (weather, harvests, resulting from a battle…). The Cœur is the seat of the Intelligence, the Sang represents the life, the form of the hepatic lobes predicts the destiny. The Médecin is also Prêtre and Devin.

In pre-Hellenic Egypt

Anatomical knowledge is used with the technique as Embaumement more than for the medico-surgical practice.

The extraction of the Cerveau by the nasal fossae requires the knowledge of the sifted blade of the Ethmoïde, the internal organs are preserved in the vases canopes… Concepts of forms and topographies visceral are reported in papyrus; example: the heart is the center of the vessels, but all the canal structures are vessels (Artère S, Veine S, urinary tracts, digestive Tract…). But there are no “scientific” dissections because the body post-mortem is protected, crowned and honoured.

In ancient Greece

The Dissection of late is prohibited, the observations are made on animals.

The Greeks of fourth century BC (Plato) develop the reflection, the speech, the reasoning, but are not scientists (example of reasoning: the perfect form is the sphere, the human head has the shape of sphere overall…, thus is worked out the Théorie of microcosm.)

For Hippocrates, health and the disease are matter to be thought, to interpret and reason, but it remains more in the field of the Philosophie than of science. Hippocrates, contemporary of Plato is a bad anatomist, certainly the heart is the seat of circulation, but the Physiologie is false: “the brain is the seat of the intelligence because the head is spherical”.

Anatomical rise with Alexandria

It creates for itself the Musée (=center of research) and the library. Hérophile (340 av. J. - C.) described many structures: the Brain, the Meninx S, the sine venous of the base of the cranium, the Nerve S cranial… Érasistrate (320 av. J. - C.) practical approximately 600 dissection, it describes the valvules heart, it distinguishes the motor nerves from the sensory nerves and supposes that the intelligence is proportional to the number of cerebral convolutions… But the fire of the library (in 47 av. J. - C.) and the Roman conquest of the Egypt involve a decline of anatomical research.

Roman empire

Galien (130 apr. J. - C.) is more Médecin that surgeon, it practices dissections on the monkey, can be on Gladiateur S; it describes: functions of the muscles and the articulations, internal organs thoracic, the cerebral Trunk… But the human dissections will be prohibited under Marc Aurèle, and during 10 centuries the work of Galien will be copied, without checking and progress.

Anatomy with the the Middle Ages

There is no structured research, nor medical and surgical development. In Andalusia, some texts Latin and Greek are transcribed, with often a Exégèse adapted to the religious constraints. To Salerno (IXe century) then with Bologna, Montpellier and Paris, privileges are granted by the Church to Confrérie S, for dissections on bodies of torture victims, but one limits oneself to comments according to Galien, it does not have there an anatomical study.

To note however the edict of 1241 promulgated by the emperor of the Saint Frederic II Worsens of Hohenstaufen, authorizing the dissection of the male corpses. The Church hastened to revoke the edict after the death of the emperor.

Later on surgeons ask for the recourse to the study by the dissection and either the comment (, Guy de Chauliac). The permission of the Duke of Anjou (in 1376), improves these conditions. But especially the popes Sixth IV and Clément VII support and recommend the dissections for the medical study.

Theoretical bases

Anatomy of the Rebirth

André Vésale (Brussels) upsets anatomical knowledge, it studies with Paris, Padoue, Basle… It describes the man “starting from the man living or who lived”, it publishes a reference book: De Humani Corporis Fabrica illustrated charts by Jean Calcar (Titien raises), it is a collection of descriptive anatomy, topographic, functional and biomécanique.
Charles Estienne publishes in 1545: De Dissectione partium corporis humani , translated into French in 1546 under the title of the Dissection of the parts of the Human body .
Jacques Dubois (known as Sylvius), described the average cerebral artery and corrects many errors. Ambroise Paré writes in 1561: the universal anatomy and establishes a very beneficial bringing together with the chirurgiens.
The Italian schools are illustrated by many work: Gabriel of Fallopio to Padoue describes the Fallopian Tube and the facial nerve. Bologna follow one another: Da Capri, Varole, Arantius, Eustace…
During this 16th century, the Imprimerie will facilitate the diffusion, but especially the collaboration of the artists with the anatomists and the medical world will make very powerful the anatomical representations. (Léonard de Vinci, Michel Angel, Paul Véronèse).

Anatomy at the XVIIe century.

So at the previous century work was based on the observation and the dissection, to the 17th century one passes being studied Microscopique. William Harvey (1625) shows blood circulation. Malpighi discovers the Capillary vessels, Sténon dismounts the muscular Contraction cardiac. It is the beginning of a physiological anatomy and functional. Aselli discovers the lympatic Circulation, Pecquet, then Rudbeck and Bartholin shows the totality of this circulation. At the end of the 17th century, the human body functions like an organized and autonomous mechanics.

During the XVIIIe century

The anatomophysiology (relation between the structure and the function) develops It is the birth of the Comparative anatomy, the Anthropologie and the Biologie. Mettrie in 1748 supports: “the brain secretes the thought like the Foie the Bile, the secreted thoughts accumulate generations in generations…” It is the time of the ampithéâtre of dissection, of the galleries of natural history (coloured wax reproduction). The anatomical schools develop in all Europe.

Anatomy at the XIXe century

It is the period of the Histologie, the theory of the cell is shown; Bichat in 1800 outlines the science of fabrics in the “treaty of the membranes”. This same year is founded the Anatomical Company of Paris by Laennec, Dupuytren and Cruveilhier. One studies the Nervous system, the Paléontologie. One works out a topographical anatomy and surgical for the safety of the amputations and the Désarticulation S, among those: Béclard, Denonvilliers, Tillaux, Farabeuf… In this same century leave great treaties of anatomy like the lithographic atlas (by J. - Mr. Bourgery in 1830-1848), the work on the lymphatic ones (Sapey)…

In Italy the work concerns the neuro-anatomy especially with: Corti, Pacini, Giacomini, Golgi… The anatomists of the XIXe century have very varied origins and functions (doctors, surgeons, physiologists, biologists, curators of a museum, etc)

Current anatomy

The anatomy becomes especially applied, for medicine and didactic teaching, the surgery and the imagery for a technical application. Without counting on the development of new anatomies, like the Endoscopy, and of the images in vivo in real-time, the use of the navigators.

See too

Chronology of the events meaning in biology and chemistry

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