Biography of the human body

It would seem that there are no more secrets in the Homo Sapiens device, but the anatomists still discover new organs and systems. Each discovery improves the quality of life of people, and, apparently, we still have to explore our mortal material shell for a long time. We tell how the methods of studying the body changed, whether 3D modeling will replace the good old autopsy and why anatomy will always be relevant.

To share to repost your own body has been interested in a person from the beginning of time. The most ancient anatomical labor is the Egyptian papyrus Edwin Smith, named after the British archaeologist who found the scroll. It dates from the XVI century BC. It describes some therapeutic procedures in case of injuries, anatomical structures, for example, the seams of the skull and even magic spells.

Nevertheless, quite accurate information is given in this source, and the methods mentioned there were clearly applied in practice. In another document - Papyrus Ebers of the year BC. If in ancient Egypt the “protoanatomy” was mainly descriptive, then in ancient Greece they begin to pay special attention not only to the structure of organs, but also to their functions. Observation of the body officially turns into science: the ancient Hellenes develop the terminology of “arteries”, “bronchi”, “amnion”, etc.

They also begin to use the main method of anatomy, which is used to this day - autopsy. Its founder is considered the ancient Greek doctor Herophilus. Animals, as well as corpses of executed criminals, become textbooks. The Herophile belonged to the Alexandrian Medical School, which existed until the III century. With the spread of Christianity and the gradual replacement of philosophical movements religious, this city was called a symbol of the ancient pagan world and by the year practically destroyed in numerous fires and pogroms.

For sciences, including anatomy and medicine, dark times have come in Europe. The autopsy became a rather rare occurrence, but they were still carried out. For the first time, the official permission from the Vatican for this procedure received Mondino de Luczi in the year.

He wrote the scientific treatise "Anatomy" such works in Europe did not appear for several centuries and included a number of provisions - often erroneous - from the works of predecessors. Nevertheless, anatomical practice gradually returned to European science and medicine. When opening the male corpses of scientists, the heart was most interested in, and in the study of female bodies, the uterus.

Mondino de Liuzzi nevertheless until the 16th century the latter was very much getting: it was considered two-, three- and seven-chamber, depicted with numerous processes and represented either the “internal scrotum” or “body sewage”. Before the Renaissance, scientists believed that the female genitals should be a mirror male display, and did not pay attention to the differences in the structure.

Leonardo da Vinci was one of the first to portray the uterus and the fetus in it as they look in reality, although in his early drawings this titan of revival also copied mistakes from other people's labors. For a long time, the opening of the comparison, the description of the organs remained the only affordable way to study the human body. But the development of technology has led to the invention of medical visualization methods that marked the second global breakthrough in the history of anatomy.

Of course, basically, all the insides have long been described and known, but now it has been possible to study the body intravital, and therefore in its normal condition, with a minimal invasive intervention. In the year, Wilhelm X -ray discovered that when passing the rays named in his honor, the outlines of the skeleton are formed in the hand on the photographic plate.

This was the first lifetime and non -invasive image of organs and tissues. X -ray quickly became popular, especially in the diagnosis of pulmonary diseases. Soon, the new technology even penetrated into shoe stores: with its help, sellers checked whether the boots were suitable for the size of the boot-until the doctors began to an alarm due to shock doses of radiation during such fitting.

Unlike the invention of an X -ray, which was quickly in use, the properties of ultrasound in medicine were not used for a long time. In the XIX century, they were used to search for defects in metal, in - x - as physiotherapy in the treatment of diseases. In the year, neurologist Karl Dusissic, using ultrasound, studied the structure of the brain truth, he incorrectly interpreted the results, considering the bone of the skull with a soft tumor.

And finally, in M ​​John Wilde became the father of medical ultrasound, correctly assessing the thickness of the intestinal walls in the patient. The first devices for ultrasound studies looked unusual: a person was sitting in a bath with water, and a large sensor was moved around him. In the year, the device acquired a type of familiar look for us - a miniature detector appeared, which the doctor could have entered the area of ​​interest.

At first, the Uz-sensors painted only the wave schedule, and on its basis the researcher made conclusions about the thickness of the fabrics.But the technologies developed rapidly, and the improved ultrasound equipment already allowed to evaluate the size of the organs, their density, the presence of neoplasms, and blood flow. Ultrasound varieties are literally used in all areas of medicine: in the year, using dopplerography, the flow of blood in the heart was visualized for the first time, a three-dimensional image of the fetus was obtained in M, and the standard procedure for the fence of tissues for analysis, biopsy began to be carried out under strict Uz control, which increased its effectiveness and reduced invasiveness.

In the year, the technology of 3D echography allowed the first time to get detailed images of the clitoris. With posthumous autopsy, it was difficult to describe due to fusion with other fabrics, and the intravital study completely turned over the ideas about this organ that had prevailed by that time. Mondino de Liuzzi by the next and last large technological breakthrough in the study of the human body has become tomography - a layer -by -layer image of an object.

The two main varieties appeared with a difference of one year. In the Godfri Haunsfield and Allan Kormak, they offer a computed tomography method, based on the measurement and processing of the difference in weakening of X -ray radiation in the tissues, and in m Paul lotterbourns publishes an article about creating an image using magnetic resonance, this will appear so much so MRI.

For both inventions, their authors received Nobel Prizes, in M ​​- Haunsfield and Kormak, and in M ​​- Lotherbur and Peter Mansfield, who improved technology. Tomography with high resolution visualizes internal organs, and modern methods, in particular functional MRI, help in the study of their work. So, with the help of this technology, it was possible to see the activation of the zones of the cerebral cortex and mapping it at given loads.

In the year, scientists, thanks to MRI, discovered a system of piercing vessel bones, which consisted of thousands of capillaries. It turned out that they supply the bone marrow with blood, and their condition changes due to fractures or inflammations. Scientists suggest that a further study of these structures will help in the study of osteoporosis and restoration of bones after injuries.

The last major discovery in anatomy-tubular salivary glands-was made in September of the year thanks to positron emission tomography, and partly by chance. Having analyzed similar pictures and also conducting two control openings, scientists confirmed that they found a new paired body. It turned out that with radiation therapy of the head or neck, it is he who suffers most of all.

Damage to these glands often leads to a violation of swallowing, which greatly reduces the quality of life of the patient, because the doctors tried to protect them as reliable as possible - but they did not suspect that, in addition to three famous couples, there was also the fourth. As a result, scientists discovered the case of previously inexplicable side effects, which, obviously, were associated with open bodies.

Now, taking into account the new data, the protocols of radiation and recovery will change. So the anatomy finally became close to physiology - the science of the functioning of our body. The lifetime state and the study of organs during their direct work gives more answers than the type of dead flesh. It turns out that autopsy is no longer needed? The pandemic of coronavirus infection forced many students to switch to distance learning, including doctors whose anatomy is part of the mandatory program.

It would seem that today there are many ways to continue classes virtually without loss: recorded in the video or in the interactive opening mode, 3D models, numerous textbooks and atlases. However, practicing anatomists are convinced that without the experience of classical “sections” a medical education cannot be considered complete. Mondino de Liuzzi firstly, the doctor uses not only vision, but also touch in the study.

The internal structures differ to the touch, and their texture can largely depend on the state of the organ. The range of such sensations is extremely wide, and so far it is not possible to recreate it with the help of simulators. Secondly, each body has its own set of pathologies and deviations from the norm. Experienced anatoms when autopsy can detect at least 30 significant discrepancies with a classic illustration in the atlas.

This does not mean that there are no healthy people - just each case is individual and differs from the average picture: gender, ethnicity and even posture are important. However, in the atlases and textbooks, as a rule, information obtained for the most part based on the autopsy of Caucasoid men is presented. This proportion is gradually leveled, but the teaching mannequins are still mainly male.

This state of affairs adversely affects the educational process: without the “plenty” and analysis of different versions of bodies, it is difficult to assess what is the norm, albeit not generally accepted, and what really can be considered pathology.It seems that this is the main task of the science of the structure of the human body to the near future - to become as personalized as possible, to give each person an anatomical passport.

And partly, it is already moving in the indicated direction - you probably took your X -ray pictures or the results of an ultrasound in the clinic. We gradually begin to better recognize our own body and, as a result, understand the possible causes of discomfort or pain, as well as the medical language. In the future, functional anatomy will also develop.

Improving the methods of visualization can lead us to new amazing discoveries - the discovery of previously unknown structures of the human body. So, despite the growing popularity of molecular biology and bioinformatics, the "old" anatomy seems to survive these disciplines. Nesy about culture.