Dorsum of the Forearm and Thumb - The Object
The object is a sketch of a dorsum which was drawn by the British surgeon and ‘father of antiseptic surgery’, Joseph Lister who lived between 1827 and 1912. The dorsum literally means ‘back’ in Latin and here refers to the back of the forearm and thumb. The image also shows a key which was handwritten by Lister with information on the features in the sketch in Latin. Lister has drawn the radial artery in red and, in parallel, he has included detail of a fine arteriole which branches at each end and which seems to connect up to the radial artery below the exterior carpi radial languor numbered 13.
The object is a record of the history of UCL and UCL Hospital. University College had opened its doors on October 1828 and was incorporated within the University of London. The religious tests continued to exclude dissenters from Oxford and Cambridge, and excepting the Scottish universities there was nowhere else Lister could have gone. There were only two faculties in 1844, medicine and art. University College Hospital has been opened as the North London Hospital in 1834, in Gower Street, across from the College. Lister’s work can be seen as an evidence of students’ life at UCL at 19 century. The object was made when Lister studied at UCL and informally worked at UCL Hospital. That was a period of time that the climate of anatomy study changed profoundly.
Title: Dorsum of the Forearm and Thumb
Artist/ Source: Joseph Lister (1827-1912)
Date: 1850 (Signed in the lower left corner “J.L. 4th of 3rd mo/ 1850”)
UCL Art Museum #4802Material: paper
Medium/ Technique: chalk with pen and ink inscriptions
Relation to Power in Society
Through this object, it can be discussed of who have the power of deciding the using of the dead.
Early studies of anatomy were banned by the Christian church.Hunters were perhaps the earliest anatomists, since dispatching animals effectively required an understanding of their most vital parts. The early warfare led to the exposure of internal human body parts, offered an even clearer understanding of anatomy. In the age of Pericles, the Greek physician, Hippocrates, began to take a more logical approach to the consideration of human illness through observation of the body. His works relied on dissection of animals and possibly secret dissections of human bodies since which was not allowed in Greek times. Medieval practice of medicine was based on the knowledge acquired in ancient Greek times which was unsatisfactory.
Up until 1743, barbers performed surgery, they acted as dentists, pulling teeth ,amputating limbs. Many of them were illiterate and most had extremely limited understanding of anatomy. Up until this time surgeons and barbers also belonged to the same guild and it was not until 1745 that the Company of Surgeons replaced the Company of Barber-Surgeons in London. Fifty-five years later, this changed again to become the Royal College of Surgeons which later oversaw examinations that were taken by prospective surgeons in order to allow them entry to the profession. Dead bodies were available for dissection for scientific research from 1832 after the British government passed the anatomy act . This significantly increased the demand for bodies. The tightness of supply of bodies has always been a problem through centuries. The bodies for dissection may come from slaves, criminals who don’t have right to their bodies.
In recent times new surgical techniques such as organ transplantation have increased the demand for body parts. An illegal trade in body parts now poses a global problem, with some individuals, especially in poorer countries, giving up kidneys in order to pay debts. Through the history of the study of anatomy, we can see that there is power behind every social activity that enable or control the social action.