The Progression of Neuroanatomy by

Early Anatomical Descriptions in Ancient Egypt (Historical)

gospodinov2 — 2024-01-20 22:51:08 UTC

The ancient Egyptians were one of the earliest civilizations to begin describing the anatomy of humans, including the brain. Through preserved records from ancient Egypt, we can get a glimpse at their medical practices and knowledge. For instance, in the Ebers papyrus (c. 1550 BC), structures called "met" or "metu" are described. "Metu" are thought to be a variety of structures including arteries, veins, and possibly nerves. Many of the places where "metu" are described are in the head. Notably for the field of neuroscience, one "met" is described for each eye. It is possible that the Egyptians were referring to what we now know as the optic nerves¹.

Though ancient Egyptian physicians had some anatomical knowledge, they were not the only ones. Egyptian embalmers were also well-versed in the anatomy of the human body. Many of the religious and cultural traditions of ancient Egypt involved various modifications and procedures to corpses, specifically to preserve them, for the afterlife. As such embalmers were skilled in knowing many structures in the body and how to remove them with the smallest amount of damage possible. The brain was one such organ that was removed after death. The embalmers were able to remove the brain without actually breaking the skull. This meant that embalmers had a decent working knowledge of the anatomy of the head¹.

Source: (1) https://thejns.org/focus/view/journals/neurosurg-focus/33/2/2012.6.focus12128.xml?tab_body=fulltext

Galen's Use of Non-human Primates (Historical)

gospodinov2 — 2024-01-22 02:37:56 UTC

Galen of Pergamon was instrumental in furthering the field of neuroanatomy. He lived from 129-216 A.D. studying and practicing medicine in many different capacities throughout the Roman Empire. During Galen's time, it was very difficult to gain access to and dissect human cadavers. As such he was forced to use animals to further his anatomical knowledge. Of the animals he dissected Galen believed that monkeys were the closest he could get to human anatomy. Specifically tailless monkeys such as the macaque pictured above. He believed that their nerves, muscles, arteries, and other structures were very similar to humans. This allowed him to make educated predictions about human anatomy, including the brain and its various structures. The use of non-human cadavers was not ideal as many structures in animals and humans were not comparable¹. Undoubtedly this led to some mistakes in his descriptions and classifying of structures but his work still allowed for the progression of anatomical studies in a time where access to human bodies was severely limited.

Source:

(1) https://hekint.org/2018/10/29/galen-macaques-and-the-growth-of-the-discipline-of-human-anatomy/

Herophilus' Contribution to Neuroanatomy (Historical)

gospodinov2 — 2024-01-23 03:15:37 UTC

Herophilus was an anatomist in ancient Greece that lived from 335 B.C. to 225 B.C. He is known as the first person to dissect a cadaver in a systemic manner. He was able to do this at a unique moment of time when human dissection was allowed in the city of Alexandria¹. This led to some significant contributions to the field of neuroscience and neuroanatomy in specific. The main one being that he was one of the first people to determine that nerves were not the same as other parts of the body like veins, arteries, and tendons. He was even able to propose that paralysis could be caused by damage to certain nerves in the body like the motor nerves. Through his focus on nerves, he was even able to recognize structures that we are aware of to this day such as the optic and vestibulocochlear nerves¹. His contributions to neuroscience and anatomy were widespread and long-lasting.

Source:

(1) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3026179/

Mondino de Luzzi (Historical)

gospodinov2 — 2024-01-23 03:17:58 UTC

In the time of the medieval period, it was very difficult to make progress in the field of anatomy. The Church had made it very difficult to gain access to human bodies and perform dissections on them for educational purposes. Eventually, in 1231, some dissections began to be allowed. Modino de Luzzi then came into the picture as the first person to do a dissection on a human corpse in 1315, since Herophilus. Mondino de Luzzi was a physician and anatomist living in Italy from 1270-1326. Some even referred to him as the "Restorer of anatomy". This was a bold claim but none the less Mondino made some promising contributions to the field of neuroanatomy. He was able to detail the dura and piua matter. As well as making predictions about what certain ventricles do, such as cognition or imagination. Much of his work was still flawed as he adhered to some older teachings of the past from people like Galen. But he was still very important in the resurgence of anatomy during the medieval period¹.

Source:

(1) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3944418/#:~:text=Mondino%20described%20the%20dura%20and,importance%20to%20the%20brain%20parenchyma.

Thomas Willis (Historical)

gospodinov2 — 2024-01-23 03:18:57 UTC

Thomas Willis was an English physician living from 1621-1675. He is an important early neuroscientist, motivated by his Christian faith to explore the anatomy of the brain and how the soul fits into that structure. He performed several dissections on patients of his who had died, and he would describe in detail the structure of the brain as well as the possible function of each part. The importance of Willis in this exhibit is to show that even in relatively later years, the impact of faith and values would greatly influence neuroanatomy¹.

Source:

(1) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC539424/

Neuroanatomy and Brain Atlasing (Contemporary)

gospodinov2 — 2024-01-23 03:24:49 UTC

For much of human history, anatomy and neuroanatomy were fields confined to the study of dissections done on cadavers and other in vitro techniques. For a long time, this left the field in a difficult spot and many neuroscientists struggled to gain more information about the brain while it was still living. But now thanks to a variety of techniques that can be done in vivo, we are able to further the field of anatomy in a way like never before. Some of these techniques include genomics and various forms of imaging such as electron microscopy as well as proteomics. By taking these techniques and combining them with other data available on the brain, extremely detailed brain atlases can be created, such as the ones above. These can be used for a variety of purposes ranging from neurosurgery to research on genetic variation in the brain. This is an exciting new frontier in the field of neuroanatomy that can lead to astounding leaps in our knowledge of the brain.

Source:

(1) https://www.mdpi.com/2813-0545/2/1/4#

Andreas Vesalius (Docent)

gospodinov2 — 2024-01-23 03:26:22 UTC

The individual I chose to lead my guests through the exhibit is Andreas Vesalius. He was a Belgian physician living from 1514 to 1564. I believe that Vesalius would make a perfect guide as he acted like a bridge between the old ways of anatomy and the new scientific field that it was growing to become. He practiced dissecting cadavers himself and he observed and described structures in his notes. Using all the information he collected he was eventually able to write the first textbook on human anatomy. Vesalius was also keenly aware of the flaws in Galen's anatomical descriptions as well as early anatomists¹. As such he would be well equipped to walk my guests through what information in the past discovered by others was actually anatomically accurate to the human body.

Source:

(1) https://www.britannica.com/biography/Andreas-Vesalius