History of Anatomy - Conclusion

Conclusion

Anatomy teaching has changed considerably over the last 1000 years though it is still very much at the heart of the philosophy of western medicine. Western medicine seeks to find a cause to all disease and attempt to cure it; very much cause and effect. Without a good understanding of the arrangement of the human body then this becomes somewhat challenging. Western medicine is in fact taking a more holistic approach today, with the psychosocial biomedical model of disease. However, most practicing doctors would readily adapt their thoughts and treatments if it was proven that there was a biological cause to disease previously thought to be idiopathic. Anatomy is often regarded as being a complete science, in that we know what and where most of the body is and does with little left to discover. The recent controversies with Gunther von Hagens and public displays of dissection may divide opinions on what is ethical (even the legality of a public dissection) The future of dissection may be uncertain and indeed, if pressure to obtain cadavers continues, even the few medical schools that continue to do dissection may have to halt. This hopefully however will not reduce the number of people able to benefit from a single cadaver if current prosection methods become the prevalent method of demonstrating gross anatomy.