Scientific Illustration

biomedicalephemera:

“Death”

Gaboon Viper - Bitis gabonica

Despite the fact that the Gaboon viper ends up on many of the lists of “World’s Deadliest” or “Most Dangerous” animals, it’s actually not anywhere near the threat that you might think. Similar to the Australian sea snakes (with some of the deadliest venom), its docile nature renders the fact that it produces the highest volume of venom much less of a threat than, say, an aggressive snake with a small amount of venom.

Granted, you shouldn’t go around picking these guys up or threatening them, but they don’t chase down intruders or threats.

Bitis gabonica is the largest of its genus (commonly known as the puff adders), and at 8.5 kg (19 lbs), is the heaviest viperid in the world. If they do manage to get a bite on someone, the hemotoxic venom can cause internal bleeding, shock, local blistering, and eventually necrosis and the need for amputation, if not treated immediately.

ETA: Apparently the Gaboon viper also has the longest fangs of any species, and that, combined with the fact that they produce the most venom and that when they DO bite, they inject venom about 3/4 of the time (as opposed to 1 in 4 times for most viperids), is why they end up on all of these “most deadly” lists. I guess it fits. Docile and chill creature overall, but don’t piss it off or you’ll be hurting.

The Uganda Protectorate. Sir Harry Johnston, 1902.

(via mudwerks)

biomedicalephemera:

“Double Penis”

This anatomical anomaly is very rare, and at the time of this book’s publication, no instances of a “true” double penis in an individual had been recorded. All cases were either that of conjoined twins, or, more often, parasitic twins growing from the pelvis.

In this instance, there was a vestigial second bladder in the pelvis of the patient, which did not attach to any other organs, but led to the second penis. No other information is given aside from the fact that this patient was displayed in continental Europe as a “medical curiosity” for several years.

[I have no idea if that’s a leg, or an arm, or both. Or maybe it’s a flipper. Who knows. Parasitic twins are weird.]

Diseases and surgery of the genito-urinary system. Francis S. Watson, 1908.

biomedicalephemera:

Gluteal muscles

The three primary gluteal muscles (maximus, medius, and minimus), in addition to the tensor fasciae latae (lateral to the primary muscles), comprise the gluteal group, which provides the majority of the support and movement that allows humans to walk upright, rotate our legs, and support our torso.

Each individual muscle is often involved in many different movements, though not always as the primary player. All four gluteal muscles originate from the outer ilium (the back of the “wings” on the pelvis). This is known as the gluteal surface.

Gluteus maximus: (Top Left) The largest muscle in the body. Supports the pelvis, lower torso, and allows the body to remain upright and regain position after stopping movement. Despite claims to the contrary, the gluteus maximus is not what gives the majority of the shape to the buttocks - that’s largely determined by the panniculus adiposus (“hanging fat”) of the buttocks. However, exercising the gluteus maximus may cause fat loss, which gives the impression that it is the primary progenitor of the shape.

Gluteus medius: (Top Center) Originates right below the gluteus maximus. Responsible for abducting the leg and maintaining an upright position while on one leg, such as during running, dancing, or entering a car.

Gluteus minimus: (Top Right) The smallest of the three primary gluteals, works in concert with the gluteus medius to maintain an upright position on one leg, as well as allowing the leg to turn inwards and outwards (medial rotation).

Tensor fasciae latae: (Bottom; near sartorus muscle) Located on the outside edge of the thigh, lateral to the primary gluteals. Causes knee extension, and functions to cause the primary movements during walking. Supported by the gluteus maximus. Used extensively in horseback riding.

Images:
Top: Posterior muscles of the gluteal and thigh region. Gluteus maximus, medius, and minimus highlighted. From Anatomy, Descriptive and Applied. Henry Gray, 1913. Highlighted by Mikael Haggstrom.
Bottom: Structures surrounding the right hip joint, including gluteal muscles. From Anatomy, Descriptive and Applied. Henry Gray, 1908.

biomedicalephemera:

Internal organs of the Chicken

biomedicalephemera:

Anyone else sick of hearing about the US election yet? My OZ friends are all getting social media reminders to vote today, and they’ve never even been to the US…well, it’s all over soon, but let’s do some cute in the mean time!

House Sparrow - Passer domesticus

In the temple at Dier-el-Bahari

The sparrow is one of the limited number of species distinctly benefiting from human settlement. Where humans are, sparrows are, often en masse. Go just a half-mile into the wilderness beyond a settlement, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find even one individual. Other closely-related passerines (“songbirds”) like finches and thrushes can survive where humans live, but none have adapted to the point that they’re rarely found in the “wild” any longer, and few other avian species have thrived as well as sparrows in settled lands.

The sparrow is perched on a wall at the temple at Dier el-Bahari, most well-known for Hatsheput’s tomb. It’s next to an engraving of Horus, depicted as a Lanner falcon (Falco biarmicus) carrying a Shen ring, a symbol of eternal protection.

Egyptian birds for the most part seen in the Nile Valley. Charles Whymper, 1909.

biomedicalephemera:

Suicide by hanging, with an old rope wound five times about the neck.

The lack of cyanosis (blue skin - generally caused by lack of oxygen) and the marked ecchymoses from the rope lead the forensic pathologist to conclude that this man hanged himself, or was hanged while still alive.

For a prolonged period during the 1800s and early 1900s, strangulation and staging a hanging was a crime not unheard of, and a fairly popular tactic for disguising a murder. If the decedent was dead prior to hanging, the ecchymoses (ruptured blood vessels) would not have formed as they did, and if he was strangled manually, significant cyanosis would appear prior to death. Because there is a lack of cyanosis and a presence of imprints from the rope, one can conclude that he was alive when he was hanged. Though it does not completely rule out murder, this conclusion would likely lead to a finding of “suicide” on the death certificate, barring suspicion of forced hanging.

Atlas of Legal Medicine. Dr. Eduard von Hofmann, 1898.

biomedicalephemera:

Nine-Banded Armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus)

Did you know that the nine-banded armadillo (and a few of its Dasypus cousins) gives birth to identical quadruplets in almost every litter? Shortly after the zygote implants in the uterus, it splits into four (or occasionally three or five) separate embryos, each of which develop their own independent placenta. This means that, unlike in identical human fetuses, blood and nutrients are not shared, and the death of one fetus is unlikely to affect the survival of the others. After the pups are born, they remain in the burrow for approximately three months, and over the next year of their life, slowly wander farther and farther away from their place of birth.

As nine-banded armadillos have few natural predators in their Northern range, this highly effective reproduction strategy means that one female will often produce upwards of 50+ offspring in her relatively short lifetime. Those offspring have been expanding the armadillo’s known range for the past several decades. However, as armadillos are poor at thermoregulation, they’ve just about reached the limit of the area that they can survive in - any farther north, and they would not be able to survive the longer winters.

Images:

Top: Tatusia novem cincta [now Dasypus novemcinctus] - The Nine-Banded Armadillo. From Biologia Centrali-Americana. F. Ducane Godman and Osbert Salvin, 1918.

Bottom: Fetal Nine-banded Armadillo Pups. The American Journal of Anatomy. Vol. III, 1900-1901. “Enamel in the teeth of an edantate.” A. M. Spurgin.

biomedicalephemera:

Anatomical Teaching Models

It’s believed that anatomical models have been used for teaching purposes (as opposed to ritualistic or religious purposes) since some point between 100 BCE - 300 CE, since dissection of the dead was a taboo and crime in the Late Greek and  Roman empire, and paper or vellum for illustration was much more fragile than, say, carved wooden figures.

However, most of our evidence for anatomical models comes from the late Medieval era and later, when materials such as ivory and sealed papier-mâché were used for many anatomical carvings. Later, especially in the 18th and 19th centuries, wax sculptures were common in medical schools, as much finer detail was attainable with such a pliable substance.

Today, most models used for teaching both lay persons and students are made from thermoplastics and texturing agents, and can range from highly detailed micro-premature babies, to fully-removable models of life-sized animals with every layer of tissue and organs, to huge versions of virions not normally visible except under an electron microscope. Given that the majority of students show greatly increased memory of a subject when able to physically manipulate a representation of it, the use of anatomical teaching models is here to stay.

For more on anatomical models and tons more on the history of medicine, visit the Science Museum: Brought to Life!

Images:

Top: Anatomical structure of reclining woman in early pregnancy. Florence, Italy, ca. 1770.
Center left: Wax model of the human brain, with skin, skull, and meninges removed. Intended for medical students. Western Europe, ca. 1700-1900. Date uncertain.
Center right: Papier-mache model of acupuncture meridians. Japan, ca. 1601-1700.
Bottom left: Sculpture of male black infant, 22-23 weeks development. Created for exhibit on how micro-preemies are kept alive in the modern era. England, 1998.
Bottom right: Model of an adenovirus, magnified 3,000,000x, from electron microscope images. London, England, 1985.

biomedicalephemera:

Faces of Lorises

1. Nycticebus tardigradus malayanus (Nycticebus coucang spp.- Sunda slow loris. Note: possibly Nycticebus javanicus - the Javan slow loris)
2. Nycticebus tardigradus hilleri (Nycticebus coucang coucang - the Sunda slow loris, type species)
3. Loris gracilis typicus (Loris lydekkerianus lydekkerianus - Gray slender loris)
4. Loris gracilis zeylanicus (Loris tardigradus - Red slender loris)

All lorises are endangered or vulnerable due to the pet trade and their use in traditional “medicine”. While these small and nocturnal critters tend to be much more adaptable when humans encroach upon their habitat than other species of primate (making due in the trees humans transplant as opposed to their native foliage, and dealing with the human presence in stride, for example), they’re still all too often thought to “cure” various ailments with their body parts (especially the slow lorises), and traded as pets throughout their native habitat of Southeast Asia, and when they’re successfully smuggled to the rest of the world.

Seriously, people. Their cuteness is so much cuter in the wild. Lorises are freaking adorable, and the hunting strategies of the various species and subspecies are so varied and fascinating that they deserve to stay in a protected natural habitat. I mean, among other reasons to preserve them, obviously…they’re just such cool little omnivores!

Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1904.

biomedicalephemera:

Skeleton of the Fin Whale (Baelenoptera musculus)

Fin whales are the second-longest animal in the world, and second-largest, after the blue whale. They travel significantly faster than blue whales in open ocean, but were (and are) hunted just as much, if not more, than their rorqual counterparts. There are estimated to be 38,000 alive today.