Week 4: The Art and Technology of Medicine

This topic is incredibly interesting to me, and everything in this course so far has really grabbed my attention in various different ways. I think the reason this section has particularly grabbed my attention is because The Art Museum where I am from carried the Body Works exhibit a few times over the years and I always went to see it. I also really enjoyed this section because you can continue to see the advancements that scientists have made over the years. Once hand drawn diagrams are now quickly and precisely imaged and produced through scanners and x-rays. 

I think Body Works is so interesting because it incorporates art and a real human body. From tissues and veins, to thinly preserved slices of brains and incarcerated lungs. To be able to visit the exhibit during my anatomy class really helped the understanding and placement of different organs, bones, and muscles. As well as truly being able to appreciate the human body. The exhibit also shows people completely made out of veins or a lung completely destroyed by smoking and where it has turned black from the smoke and pollution. 

Another aspect of this section that I really enjoyed learning about was the x-rays and MRIs as well as CT Scans. Being an athlete, I am well aware of the above. Knowing that our society has progressed to such an incredible level of medical technology blows my mind. I couldn't imagine not being able to see a dislocation or hairline fracture and even a torn tendon. The X-ray "was hailed as one of mankind's greatest technological accomplishments, and invention that would revolutionize every aspect of human existence" (Dream Anatomy). This kind of technology is a contributing factor to why people are able to live longer and healthier. 
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx-0emi4m8s#t=17
(If you follow the link above, it shows the process of a CT Scan and what they are looking for in the scan of a brain)

~Claire Felix 

Citations:

"Dream Anatomy." U.S. Nation Library of Medicine: National Institutes of Health. USA.gov, n.d. Web. 27 Oct 2013.
Hagens, Gunther Von. "Body Worlds." More Than A Museum. Discovery Times Square, n.d. Web. 27 Oct 2013.
More Than A Museum. 2013. Photograph. Discovery Times Square, New York City. Web. 27 Oct 2013.
Rontgen, Wilhelm Conrad. The hand of Mrs. Wilhelm Roentgen. 2002. Photograph. nlm.nih.gov, London. Web. 27 Oct 2013
"What is a CT Scan? What is a CAT Scan?." MNT. Medical News Today, n.d. Web. 25 Oct 2013.
Worlds, Body. Rearing Horse with Rider. 2013. Photograph. About.comWeb. 26 Oct 2013.