Some Incidents in the Evolution of the Modern Physician.

Elliston, William A.

doi:10.1001/jama.1900.24620310024001g

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“…Caius, John, founder of anatomy, 134 Charles II and 136 Edward Servetus, Michael, [85][86][87] Sylvius, Jacobus, [83][84][85]92 Middle Ages, [62][63][64][65][66][67]262 Renaissance, [79][80][81][82][83][84][85][86][87][88] University of Bologna, [63][64][65][66][79][80] Cambridge, 139 Cincinnati, 238…”

Section: Human Dissection Its Drama and Strugglementioning

confidence: 99%

Human dissection; its drama and struggle

Lassek¹

1958

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Xhe present chapter is an attempt to trace the evolution of the primeval mentality and reactions toward the dead in the belief that it is important in understanding the development of human dissection. The definition of death as here used is the following: the "cause or occasion of loss of life." Probably prehistoric man puzzled more on this phenomenon than he did on any other theme. Because of his intellectual status, it was more of a mystery to him and his explanation as to its cause was unique and different than ours. Death has always been of more than passing interest to all generations of mankind; there are those who believe that both religion and philosophy are nothing more than meditation upon it (Metchnikoff, '07). One thing which seems to be certain is that the idea of the inevitability of death is a human acquisition. Some animals, like horses and steers, shrink from seeing dead bodies but they have no notion that it is an eventuality. The nearest physiological event occurring naturally during life, with which the primitive mind could compare death, was sleep. So he called the former the "long sleep." He could see, however, that it was of a different kind. His earliest experience with it consisted of observing a tribal member, perhaps a relative, lying cold and silent, clammy to the touch, with glazed eyes staring into space. By contrast to normal slumber, he found that such an individual could not be aroused. The overall picture was such that the presence of the dead filled him with terror, a powerful impulse to flee which he did, thus leaving the body to be ravaged by beasts of prey. Flight and total neglect of the a possible lingering, angry, ghostly influence. Both nature and ancestors were worshiped. All powers were conceived in terms of localized spirits which could be celestial, terrestrial or human. 20 CONCEPTS OF DEAD AMONG ANCIENT CIVILIZATION 21 They were ranked in the following order: those from heaven, earth, deceased emperors, sun, moon and ancestors. The rites of religion were a function of the state and were performed for the people, not by them. The emperor, son of heaven, was the ecclesiastical head of the nation and he alone could perform the ceremonies. By contrast, the classes privately venerated their forbears. The popular faith was practical, the aim being to obtain mundane goods and health in abundance during life. In remote times, the Chinese believed that demons, ghosts, vampires and werewolves populated the country as thickly as human inhabitants and that they could do all kinds of harm. The life of man constituted an incessant battle against them; the only means of defense was considered to be the application of magic and the possible enlistment of their gods as allies. The existence of the dead was imagined to be a ghostly continuation of earthly life in the midst of the living. It was important to them that the dead be properly interred. Great difficulty was often encountered and expense incurred in finding an ideal burial spot. Without this, the spirits might be dissatisfi...

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Section: Human Dissection Its Drama and Strugglementioning

confidence: 99%

Human dissection; its drama and struggle

Lassek¹

1958

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show abstract

Some Incidents in the Evolution of the Modern Physician.

Cited by 1 publication

References 0 publications

Human dissection; its drama and struggle

Human dissection; its drama and struggle

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