The lower cavity: the origins and history of an anatomical idea.

IF 1.1 2区 哲学 Q4 HEALTH CARE SCIENCES & SERVICES
Dmitry Ezrokhi
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

This paper examines the history of the 'lower cavity' of the gastrointestinal tract, a distinctive anatomical feature in Greco-Roman medicine that described a second stomach-like organ in the large intestine. It traces how a bipartite model of the digestive system emerged in fourth-century bce Greek medical and philosophical thought and persisted in the works of influential figures such as Galen, Vesalius, and Glisson, despite shifts in terminology, anatomical observations, and physiological theories. The study demonstrates that this understanding arose primarily from three complementary factors: a specific terminology that paired the stomach with a lower cavity, systematic animal dissections that revealed pronounced caeca in certain species, and emerging physiological theories that required separate bodily receptacles for digested food and residues. Through this case study, the paper illuminates how premodern anatomical knowledge was articulated by a constant negotiation between animal bodies, human bodies, and past textual authorities, facilitating the surprising longevity of ideas like the 'lower cavity' in the gastrointestinal tract.

下腔:一种解剖学观念的起源和历史。
本文考察了胃肠道“下腔”的历史,这是希腊罗马医学中一个独特的解剖特征,描述了大肠中第二个胃状器官。它追溯了消化系统的两部分模型是如何在公元前4世纪希腊医学和哲学思想中出现的,并在盖伦、维萨里乌斯和格里森等有影响力的人物的作品中持续存在,尽管术语、解剖观察和生理理论发生了变化。该研究表明,这种理解主要来自三个互补的因素:将胃与下腔配对的特定术语,在某些物种中发现明显的盲肠的系统动物解剖,以及需要单独的身体容器来消化食物和残留物的新兴生理学理论。通过这个案例研究,本文阐明了前现代解剖学知识是如何通过动物身体、人体和过去的文本权威之间的不断协商来表达的,从而促进了胃肠道“下腔”等概念的惊人长寿。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
Medical History
Medical History 医学-科学史与科学哲学
CiteScore
1.60
自引率
0.00%
发文量
25
审稿时长
>12 weeks
期刊介绍: Medical History is a refereed journal devoted to all aspects of the history of medicine and health, with the goal of broadening and deepening the understanding of the field, in the widest sense, by historical studies of the highest quality. It is also the journal of the European Association for the History of Medicine and Health. The membership of the Editorial Board, which includes senior members of the EAHMH, reflects the commitment to the finest international standards in refereeing of submitted papers and the reviewing of books. The journal publishes in English, but welcomes submissions from scholars for whom English is not a first language; language and copy-editing assistance will be provided wherever possible.
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