Week 4 Blog Post

As discussed by our Professor in this week's lecture, the human body has been critical the role of medicine has been historically speaking in regards to art. In lecture one, she discusses human dissection and how the act of being present for these intimate moments with the body has helped with the creation of art regarding it (Vesna). Throughout history the body has been symbolic and representative of so many different things, and are serves as a means to represent that.

Vitruvian Man by Leonardo Da Vinci
via: Erickson

Beyond the actual creation of art and medicine affecting that, there have been recent studies that explore how art itself actually affects medicine. In an article entitled "Can Studying Art Help Medical Students Become Better Doctors?" by Robert Glatter, MD, Glatter explores this different perspective. He writes about how creating art allows medical students who primarily use the left side of their brain will allow them to be more stimulated and use the right side as well. Furthermore, Glatter discusses how the understanding of human anatomy and what it looks like on various scales will help increase innovation for 3D reading technology as well (Glatter).

This can be seen through comparison of some of Da Vinci's art and other more modern 3D pictures. In some ways Da Vinci's work is more detailed than that of the actual scan, but in agreeance with Glatter-- it has undoubtedly played a role in the advancement of modern medicine technology.

The Mechanical Man by Leonardo Da Vinci
via: Edinburgh Festival

MRI/ X-ray Scan
via: Startradiology

Sources:

“Leonardo Da Vinci: The Mechanics of Man Set for 2013 Edinburgh International Festival.” Edinburgh Festival, 1 Aug. 2013, edinburghfestival.list.co.uk/article/53190-leonardo-da-vinci-the-mechanics-of-man-set-for-2013-edinburgh-international-festival/.

“Niche and the Death of the Renaissance Man.” Dan Erickson, www.danerickson.net/niche/.

Robert Glatter, MD. “Can Studying Art Help Medical Students Become Better Doctors?” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 21 Oct. 2013, www.forbes.com/sites/robertglatter/2013/10/20/can-studying-art-help-medical-students-become-better-doctors/#240222544cdb.

Vesna, Victoria. "Medicine, Technology, and Art." Desma 9. 28 April 2019. 

www.zeauw.nl, Zeauw -. “MRI Technique.” Startradiology, www.startradiology.com/the-basics/mri-technique/.