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" The best atlas of human anatomy." Edward Pernkopf was a very talented anatomy person. He was very good a dissection, he dissected 16 hours of each day. He has a team of illustrators, and basically Pernkopf wanted them to draw what they saw. " The source of Pernkopf's Atlas illustrations was the macabre spoils of NAzi murders; the slaughtered bodies of men, women, and children."

Side note: It was very disturbing to learn about this. However it was very interesting at the same time.

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When nerve surgeon Dr Susan Mackinnon needed help to finish an operation, she reached, as she often does, for a mid-20th Century book of anatomy.
Thanks to the complex hand-drawn illustrations - showing the human body peeled back layer by layer - Dr Mackinnon, from Washington University in St Louis, was able to complete the procedure.

The book she had used, the innocuous-sounding Pernkopf Topographic Anatomy of Man, is widely considered to be the best example of anatomical drawings in the world. It is richer in detail and more vivid in colour than any other.

Skin, muscle, tendons, nerves, organs and bone are revealed in graphic detail. It's not for the faint-hearted.

But the book, often referred to as Pernkopf's Atlas, is no longer in print and a second-hand set - there are several volumes - can sell for thousands of pounds online.

Yet despite its hefty asking price, few would proudly display it in their clinic, library or home.

That's because the book's findings came from the bodies of hundreds of people killed by the Nazis. It is their bodies - cut up and dissected - that are shown across thousands of pages.

Critics say the book is tainted by its dark past and scientists have grappled with the ethics involved in its use.

Dr Mackinnon says she feels uncomfortable with its origin, but using the book is a crucial part of being an "ethical surgeon" - and that she could not do her job without it.

Rabbi Joseph Polak - a Holocaust survivor and professor of health law - believes the book is a "moral enigma" because it is derived from "real evil, but can be used in the service of good".

The book was a 20-year project of a prominent Nazi and doctor, Eduard Pernkopf, who rose through the academic ranks in Austria thanks to his support for Adolf Hitler's party.

His colleagues described him as an "ardent" National Socialist who, from 1938, wore a Nazi uniform to work every day.

When he was made dean of the medical school at the University of Vienna, he sacked all the Jewish members of the faculty, including three Nobel laureates.

In 1939, a new Third Reich law ensured the bodies of all executed prisoners were immediately sent to the nearest department of anatomy for research and teaching purposes.

During this period Pernkopf worked 18-hour days dissecting corpses, while a team of artists created images for his book. Sometimes the anatomy institute was so full, executions had to be postponed.

Dr Sabine Hildebrandt, from Harvard Medical School, says at least half of the 800 images in the atlas came from political prisoners. They included gay men and lesbians, gypsies, political dissidents and Jews.

In the first edition of the atlas, published in 1937, the signatures of illustrators Erich Lepier and Karl Endtresser included swastikas and the double lightning bolt insignia of the SS.

Even the 1964 two-volume English language edition included the original signatures including the Nazi symbols. Later editions airbrushed out the Nazi insignia.

Thousands of copies of the atlas were sold across the world, and it was translated into five languages. Prefaces and introductions in the books describe "pictorially impressive drawings... and outstanding pieces of art" while eschewing any mention of their bloody past.

It was only in the 1990s that students and academics really began questioning who the people in the atlas were. After the brutal history was revealed, the atlas went out of publication in 1994.

The Royal College of Surgeons says the atlas is not in use in the UK, apart from being retained by libraries for historical purposes.

However a recent Neurosurgery survey of nerve surgeons found 59% were aware of Pernkopf's Atlas, with 13% currently using it.

Of those surveyed, 69% said they were comfortable using the atlas once they were made aware of its history, 15% were uncomfortable and 17% were undecided.

Dr Mackinnon says nothing else "even begins to compare" to the book's accuracy and detail, and it is particularly useful for complex surgeries because it helps her "figure out which of the many small nerves that course through our body are potentially causing the pain".

But she says she ensures everyone involved in the surgery is aware of the book's dark origins.

"When I became aware of the tainted and evil origin of this atlas I began keeping it secured away in my operating room locker," she says.

Last year, Rabbi Polak and medical historian and psychiatrist Professor Michael Grodin, prepared a Responsum (a scholarly answer based on Jewish medical ethics) on whether it is ethical to use the atlas based on Dr Mackinnon's experience.

They concluded that most Jewish authorities would allow the use of the images to save human lives - under the condition the history of the atlas was made known, so the victims were afforded some of the dignity they are owed.

Rabbi Polak, told the BBC: "Look at Dr Mackinnon - she couldn't find a nerve and she's the greatest in her field. The patient told her 'I want my leg cut off if you can't find it' - no one wants that to happen.

"So she swallowed hard and asked them to bring Pernkopf's atlas. She found the nerve in minutes because of these illustrations.

"She asked me, as a moral thinker, about the situation. And I said to her, if this is going to heal this person and give them their life back, then there is no question that the atlas can be used."

Pernkopf was arrested after the war and sacked from the university. He was held at an Allied prison of war camp for three years but was never charged with any crime.

Following his release he returned to the university and continued his work on the atlas, publishing a third volume in 1952. He died in 1955, shortly before the publication of a fourth volume.

More than 60 years later, the atlas is still one of the best resources for visual information for detailed anatomical and surgical work, according to Dr Hildebrandt, who teaches anatomy.

"Those of us who have learned to 'see' with it use it whenever we have questions. In peripheral nerve surgery some surgeons find it to be a unique and irreplaceable source of information," she says.

But, she adds: "I personally do not use the Pernkopf images in my anatomy teaching unless I have time to speak about its history."

Dr Jonathan Ives, a bioethicist from the University of Bristol, agrees the atlas is "amazingly detailed" but says it is tainted by its "horrific past".

"If we are using it and reaping the benefits it implies we are somehow complicit," he says.

"But you could also argue that in not using it, the atlas would be lost and it could not be used as a reminder of what happened."

For Dr Mackinnon, it remains a vital tool - even if its past can never be forgotten.

"I would think that as an ethical surgeon I would take it as a given that I should use whatever educational resource I thought would help me to maximise a successful outcome," she says, "and that my patient would expect that of me.

"In my experience, it would set back detailed nerve surgery tremendously if these books are lost."
Follow Keiligh @keiligh1

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The Nazi book of anatomy still used by surgeons

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When nerve surgeon Dr Susan Mackinnon needed help to finish an operation, she reached, as she often does, for a mid-20th Century book of anatomy. Thanks to the complex hand-drawn illustrations - showing the human body peeled back layer by layer - Dr Mackinnon, from Washington University in St Louis, was able to complete the procedure.

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Doctors took her cancer cells without her and her family knowing. They also didn't get her or her families consent to do so. The cells they took have been used in so many places. Her family has waited seven years for justice.

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"Treating people against their will, even for their own good, is usually considereda form of assault."

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"Specifically we are confronted with the choice between the harm of killing and the harm on continued suffering."

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Voluntary- Euthanasia with patient's consent

Non-voluntary- Euthanasia without knowing the patient's wishes.

Involuntary- Euthanasia against the patient's wishes (homicide).

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Active- Interventions in medicine would include administering a drug through an IV or writing a prescriptions for a lethal dose.

Passive- Interventions would include withdrawing of life support or withholding life0saving treatment like CPR or cardiac stimulations.

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At least two options

All of the options have a downside

Doing nothing causes one of the options to occur anyone

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Clear: Everyone that could be involved needs to know why a decision was made, also why it was made.

Coherent: a decision that is similar with others ethical decisions.

Justification: All those that are involved with making ethical decision. Whether they agree with the decision or not, and reasonable person can agree upon this.

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First thing is having a open and honest talk with other people. This should be a place where everyone knows they can share there thoughts and opinion's. The second thing is shared understanding of the ethical principles that are relevant to the situation. The next thing would be willing to compromise with others. Not everyone will agree with whatever you have to share. It is important to find a good solution that works for everyone. Lastly, it important to learn and grow. Leaning from others is a good way to see a different light. This will also teach you new things.

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Here's a book that I thought would be great to great about agreeing on ethical issues.

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Interfering with a persons liberty, that is paternalism. If someone is going to harm themselves or others that is justified of paternalism.

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Soil store more than 4000 billion tones of carbon. The cost of land degradation reaches about $490 billion per year. 40% of the world's degraded land occurs in areas with the highest poverty.

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Resource

ENCYCLOPEDIC ENTRY

Soil is one of the most important elements of an ecosystem, and it contains both biotic and abiotic factors. The composition of abiotic factors is particularly important as it can impact the biotic factors, such as what kinds of plants can grow in an ecosystem.

Subjects

Biology, Ecology, Chemistry, Earth Science, Geography, Physical Geography

Image

Soil Layers

Soil is composed of both biotic-living and once-living things, like plants and insects-and abiotic materials-nonliving factors, like minerals, water, and air.

Photo from Getty Images

Soil contains air, water, and minerals as well as plant and animal matter, both living and dead. These soil components fall into two categories. In the first category are biotic factors-all the living and once-living things in soil, such as plants and insects. The second category consists of abiotic factors, which include all nonliving things-for example, minerals, water, and air. The most common minerals found in soil that support plant growth are phosphorus, and potassium and also, nitrogen gas. Other, less common minerals include calcium, magnesium, and sulfur. The biotic and abiotic factors in the soil are what make up the soil's composition.

Soil composition is a mix of soil ingredients that varies from place to place. The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)-part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture-has compiled soil maps and data for 95 percent of the United States. The NRCS has found that each state has a "state soil" with a unique soil "recipe" that is specific to that state. These differing soils are the reason why there is such a wide variety of crops grown in the United States.

Consider the soils of three states: Hawai'i, Iowa, and Maine. Hawai'i's deep, well-drained state soil contains volcanic ash that makes it perfect for growing sugar cane, as well as ginger roots, papaya, and macadamia nuts. Iowa, which is in Midwest region of the United States, has a state soil that is good for farming because it is made up of a thick layer of organic matter from the decomposition of prairie grasses. Corn and soybeans are the primary crops grown in these soils. The state soil of Maine, located in the northeastern part of the country, is made from materials left behind after local glaciers melted. This soil is perfect for growing trees-specifically, red spruce and balsam fir. Many of the trees being grown today in Maine are harvested for timber or for making paper.

Soil scientists conduct various tests on soils to learn about their composition. Soil testing can identify the amounts of biotic and abiotic factors in the soil. The results of these tests can also reveal if the soil has too much of a specific mineral or if it needs more nutrients to support plants. Scientists also measure other factors, such as the amount of water in the soil and how it varies over time-for instance, is the soil unusually wet or dry? The tests can also identify contaminants and heavy metal in the soil and determine the soil's nitrogen content and pH level (acidity or alkalinity). All of these measurements can be used to determine the soil's health.

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Director

Tyson Brown, National Geographic Society

Author

National Geographic Society

Production Managers

Gina Borgia, National Geographic Society

Jeanna Sullivan, National Geographic Society

Program Specialists

Sarah Appleton, National Geographic Society, National Geographic Society

Margot Willis, National Geographic Society

other

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Soil is one of the most important elements of an ecosystem, and it contains both biotic and abiotic factors. The composition of abiotic factors is particularly important as it can impact the biotic factors, such as what kinds of plants can grow in an ecosystem.

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Critical ecosystem services

High levels of endemism

stunning scenery

Large, charismatic megafauna

Biodiversity

Useful genes

Ecosystem that is endangered

Remoteness

Indigenous lands

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This is way we could wipe out population.

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Food ethics, goes from having the animal, than breeding, to raising it, after slaughter. The environment, human health, and social justice.

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Talk about in lecture, maybe a good book to read?