July, 1825, thus expressed himself.--"We will not dilate any further
on the great utility of these pieces, which, doubtless, will soon be
generally felt. It may be sufficient to add, that they are competent,
by a preliminary knowledge of the situation of the relations of the
parts, greatly to simplify the study of anatomy, by facilitating the
dissections which are indispensable to the study of medicine; from
which will result the eminent advantage of rescuing a great number of
students from those accidents which are caused by a protracted stay in
the dissecting theatres,--further, that they are well calculated to
supply the place of corpses in those places where it is not possible
to procure them; and that, by the study of similar pieces, and the
dissection of certain animals, a knowledge can be acquired of the
structure of the human body, sufficient for the majority of cases, and
much more precise and indubitable than that which can be acquired by
any other artificial means."
That celebrated man, M. Geoffrey St. Hilaire, says, in his report to
the Institute on the 2nd of August, 1830, 'A general knowledge of the
parts of the human body ought one day to constitute a part of natural
history, and form an early branch of education amongst every class of
society. Sooner or later, this study will be adopted in our schools;
but this will never become, nor is it possible to be executed without
the resources offered by the new branch of industry created by M.
Auzouz.'
M. Richerand, one of the most celebrated professors of medicine
of France, says, 'He who cultivates the science of human anatomy,
resembles, in some degree, the chymist; in the same manner that the
latter cannot attain to a correct knowledge of a substance without
being able to decompose it, and to analyze it in all its parts, so the
anatomist cannot obtain a perfect knowledge of the human body until,
having studied separately, and with the greatest care, each of its
organs, and each of the systems which are formed by a certain number
of similar organs, he is able to assign to each of them its proper
place--to determine the relations which they bear to each other, and
the proportions into which they enter, in order to form the composition
of this or that of our members.'
From these commendatory reports from some of the most scientific men
of France, as well as from the opinion of a great number of physicians
who were invited to give their opinion on the utility of his artificial
skeleton, M. Auzouz drew the following results.
'1st. That these preparations differ totally from all others which
have been hitherto made or constructed for facilitating the study of
anatomy, and which have nothing further in common with them, than that
their immediate tendency is the same.
'2nd. That they exhibit in the same subject, in a vertical attitude,
all the parts which constitute the composition of the human body, with
all the characters which belong to them.
'3rd. That the use of these pieces will considerably diminish the time
which the students devote to the study of anatomy, and shorten their
stay in the anatomical schools.
'4th. That they will possess the advantage of recalling the anatomical
details to the memory of the students and practitioners in general, who
have already devoted themselves to the science.
'5th. That they will render the study of anatomy possible in all
seasons of the year, and in all countries in which the climate or
prejudice is opposed to dissection.
'6th. Finally, with the assistance of these pieces, the study of
anatomy may be made a branch of public instruction, and thereby become
advantageous to every class of society, particularly to those who
devote themselves to medicine, to the fine arts, to military science,
or to navigation.
'Since the period that my first model appeared, artificial anatomy
has been made use of in a great number of public establishments, for
the purpose of anatomical illustration. Complete subjects have been
sent to the following schools of medicine:--To Boston, to Martinique,
Guadaloupe, Isle of France, College of Yale, (United States,) Metz,
Strasburg, Lille, Val de Narre, the Museum, (Stockholm,) Evreux, Oxaca,
(South America,) Louisiana, Vera Cruz, Cairo, Toulon, Turin, New
Orleans, Harvard, (New England,) Charlestown, the Faculty of Medicine
of Strasburg, &c. In regard to myself, many thousands of students
have attended my lectures, or have studied in my cabinet. I have
collected with great care all the remarks and observations that have
been addressed to me; I have frequently, for the last eleven years,
carefully revised, several times a day, all the parts of my labour;
and I have introduced into them all the corrections which have been
suggested to me; and finally, in order to render artificial anatomy
more worthy of the success that it has obtained, I have constructed a
new model, and thus many important modifications and numerous additions
have been made to the subject of my labours.
'The augmentations do not consist of some minute details, nor of some
additions of little or no importance. The former have been completely
changed, and the incisions multiplied. The model published in 1825,
consisted only of sixty-six regular pieces, and three hundred and
fifty-six in detail; whereas that which was made public in 1830,
consisted of one hundred and twenty-nine regular pieces, that is,
pieces which are capable of being separated, and eleven hundred and
fifteen pieces in detail. The skeleton taken for the model, represents
a man of an athletic constitution. I have given it the attitude of
Antinous, to which it may be compared, on account of the beauty and
exactitude of its forms. The left foot is fixed in a wooden socket,
for the purpose of giving it a rotatory movement. All the parts united
present a man, from whom the skin only has been taken. One half of
the subject is represented entire; all the parts which constitute the
other half may be detached; every muscle, every organ may be removed,
one by one, from the skin to the bone, with the greatest facility,
and replaced in the same manner. An order number, corresponding with
a synoptic table, is made to indicate the name of the organ, and the
extremity at which the displacement should be made.
'A few moments only are necessary to cover a table with the numerous
pieces which enter into the composition of this anatomical imitation,
and a few minutes are sufficient to put them together again, and to
form the complete skeleton.'
So far may be considered as the report of M. Auzouz himself, relative
to the advantages of his invention; and being afterwards submitted to
the Royal Academy of Physic to pronounce upon its merits, the following
report was made on the 10th of May, 1831. Dubois, Ribes, Adelon,
Craveilhier, Breschet, Cloquet, and de Massy, were appointed by the
academy to examine the invention of M. Auzouz, and the report is drawn
up and signed by M. de Massy.
'It was in the year 1822, 1823, and 1825, that M. Auzouz submitted for
your examination a number of pieces of artificial anatomy, adapted to
represent the different parts which belong to the composition of the
human body.
'It is by means of a particular paste that M. Auzouz executes his
preparations. This paste, in a fresh state, is susceptible of being run
into moulds, to take and preserve the most delicate impressions, and to
acquire by desiccation a solidity equal to that of wood.
'In due course of time, you appointed Messrs. Dumeril, Berlard,
Cloquet, Desgenettes, Breschet, Richerand, and Alard, whose well-known
science rendered them fully competent to give a correct opinion of
similar works, to report to you on the labours of our associate, M.
Auzouz; and they reported to you the importance of the discovery, and
called upon you to bestow your commendations on the inventor. They also
reported to you that he was deserving of the encouragement which the
government bestows upon those who render a benefit to their country.
Your reporter, M. Alard, says, that France at this time possesses the
advantage of surpassing all other countries in the art of anatomical
imitations.
'Your decision, gentlemen, has been fortified by the zeal and anxiety
evinced by the public establishments of other countries to become
possessed of similar anatomical subjects. Your commendations, and the
anxious activity with which foreigners have applied for the works of
our skilful associate, inspired him with fresh ardour and zeal to
render his work still more perfect.
'We will here repeat with pleasure what was said by the Medical Society
of Emulation in 1823. "It is with pleasure that we bestow upon M.
Auzouz every encomium of which he is deserving, for his zeal for the
promotion of science; for his patience, his ingenious attempts, and
finally for the results which are due to his perseverance, and his
correct knowledge of anatomy."
'After five years of the most persevering and obstinate labour,
M. Auzouz submitted to the Academy, on its sitting on the 25th of
May, 1830, a new piece of anatomy, for the examination of which you
appointed Messrs. Dubois, Ribes, Adelon, Craveilhier, Breschet,
Cloquet, and myself.
'It is not only to some slight modifications, or to some trifling
additions, that our associate has directed his application and his
skill; he has almost recommenced his labours, preserving only the
_modus faciendi_.
'M. Auzouz has taken for his model the corpse of an adult of five feet
six inches high, and he enforced upon himself the task of reproducing
it in all its most minute details.
'This new model, compared with that previously made, even with the
complete piece which was submitted for your examination in 1825, and
which appeared to leave nothing further to desire, exhibits, however,
these differences, which could not have been expected from the same
individual. The forms have been completely changed, the details almost
doubled; and by means of some ingenious incisions or cuts, M. Auzouz
has succeeded in reproducing everything which has any relation to
the various branches of the science. It is not only the bones that
have been reproduced with an exactitude and fidelity which, if we had
not been aware of the circumstances, would have led us to consider
the bones as real,--the most tender, the most delicate, as well as
the most voluminous; the softest, as well as the hardest; the most
superficial, as well as the most profound, all are represented with the
most scrupulous exactness in their form and colour, their relations
and connexions. We consider that it would be useless to lay before you
an analysis of all those details, and will therefore only draw your
attention to some particular facts to which your commissioners have
principally directed their attention.
'The heart has been produced with the happiest success, by means of a
particular cut. This organ is divided into two moieties, on each of
which are two cavities, which may be opened in such a manner as to
admit of a full inspection of the valves. All these parts are united
with such extreme nicety and exactness, that the traces of the division
are scarcely distinguishable; and when combined, they exhibit a heart
of the natural size, from which the vessels arise which digress from
it, or which terminate in it. All these vessels being produced from
their origin to their termination, it becomes an easy task to study the
branches which depart from it, the numerous anastomoses which they have
between them, and their relations with the different organs.
'The preparation of the head, in which are found the head, the
pharynx, the larynx, the nasal cavities, with the muscles, the veins,
the arteries, the nerves which accompany those parts, or which are
distributed about them, appears to your commissioners to exhibit a
whole, which has never before been produced.
'This work is, however, not yet complete; even M. Auzouz himself admits
that some errors may have crept in. Your commissioners have employed
several sittings in the examination of this new preparation, and they
have discovered some inaccuracies, some anatomical errors. These
inaccuracies and errors were, however, no sooner pointed out, than
they were rectified, so great is the facility with which M. Auzouz can
remove and replace every one of the parts.
'Your commissioners congratulate themselves on having announced to
you the entire realization of the hopes which not only your former
commissions and those of the Royal Academy of Sciences, and the Medical
Society of Emulation have entertained, but also of several very able
physicians who have been called on to give their opinion.'
In regard to the measures adopted in this country to legalize the sale
of bodies, Mr. Warburton has succeeded in carrying his Bill through
the House of Commons, extending the provisions of it to Ireland. It is
supposed that some of the clauses of the Bill may have an injurious
effect upon the private anatomical schools; but taking the general
principle of the Bill under our consideration, we are convinced that,
when certain prejudices are overcome, it will be found fully adequate
to remedy the evil which has so long existed, to the odium and disgrace
of the country, and that the general interests of science will be
encouraged and supported by it.
THE END.
Printed by W. CLOWES, Stamford Street.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The Editor of this work, on once going the nightly round with
the head-officer of the Queen Square police, was shown into a
house of this kind in one of the most remote and obscure streets
in Tothill Fields; and it is rather singular that Bishop, who has
lately forfeited his life on the scaffold, was then in the house. A
celebrated resurrectionist of that time, of the name of Alexander, was
also present; and on the officer familiarly asking Alexander, if he
had no particular business on hand that night, he answered, with the
greatest _sang froid_, "No--I had a good drag last night;"--and shaking
his coat-pockets, added, "I have got a rare set of grinders here, all
young and white." The countenance of this man bespoke his trade;--it
had neither the sharpness nor the acuteness of Bishop's; but it would
have served a Correggio for the model of the determined, resolute, and
undaunted villain.
[2] We also know of a medical man who reversed the case by treating a
dropsical woman as a pregnant one, as in the case of Johanna Southcott,
by Dr. Reece, of Chemical-hall notoriety. Mr. Sleight must, however,
be aware that the treating of a pregnant woman as a dropsical one, is
by no means a rare case; it is of very frequent occurrence, and for
reasons which need not here be stated. The _skill_ of the professional
man is in these cases wholly out of the question; it _must_ be dropsy,
or ---- _verbum sat_. It was the _interest_ of Dr. Reece to declare the
pregnancy of the immaculate Johanna. The Southcottonians flocked to him
from all quarters, as the chosen man by whose obstetrical aid young
Shiloh was to be brought into the world; it was a case of Interest
_versus_ Skill, and the latter was nonsuited. We should not, however,
have entered into this exposition, had it not been to invalidate the
argument of Mr. Sleight, that the mere treatment of a pregnant woman as
dropsical, implies a want of professional skill; we have merely thrown
out the hint, that _circumstances_ determine the case. It is either
dropsy or pregnancy, accordingly as the patient wishes or determines
that it shall be.