Sound Medicine -- June 29, 2002
- Barbara Lewis talks to physicians and researchers about:
Farming on Mars
Prosthetics
and stereolithography
- A
history of grave robbing
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Farming on Mars
NASA has plans for an expedition to Mars before 2020. The space agency
and researchers at Purdue University are exploring ways for humans to
sustain themselves in space and on the red planet for years. Dr. Cary
Mitchell, professor of plant physiology and specialist in hydroponics,
directs NASA's Specialized Center of Research and Training in Advanced
Life Support.
Dr. Mitchell talks with us about his project, funded by a $10 million,
5-year grant from NASA. He's selecting vegetable and legume species
that will provide a balanced vegetarian diet for space explorers. He
talks about growing crops underground with strips of LED lights hanging
in the canopy, about mining for water, about recycling waste, and about
the difficulty of growing plants in a low-gravity environment. Dr. Mitchell
also discusses the "Bioplex" test facility that NASA is building
at the Johnson Space Center in Houston where his and others' research
will be tested.
- Resources
 Get
more information about Dr. Mitchell's and Purdue University's involvement
with NASA from the Purdue
News Service. See a photo of Dr. Mitchell and his LEDs.
- Read
more about NASA's many research projects to support an ecosystem in
space and prolonged space visits at NASA's
home page.
Prosthetics and stereolithography
 Stereolithography
is now being used for creating realistic-looking prosthetics. If someone
loses a body part, such as an ear, technicians can make a CAT scan of
the remaining ear, prompting a laser device to carve an exact replica
in resin, which serves as a mold for new prosthesis. It is made from
soft, flesh-like material and attached to the patient.
Dr. Carl Andres from the IU
School of Dentistry describes the field of stereolithography, an
industrial process that uses data generated from computer-assisted design
software to generate three-dimensional models. He is director of graduate
prosthodontics and maxillofacial prosthetics at the IU School of Dentistry.
- Resources
- Learn
how stereolithography works at Marshall
Brain's How Stuff Works Web site.
Visit
the Wilford
Hall Medical Center Web site for a technical explanation of how
dental prosthetics are made using stereolithography.
A history of grave robbing
The study of human anatomy is fundamental to medical education, and
it has an ancient history. Dr. Walter Daly dean emeritis of the IU School
of Medicine, set out to study the beginnings of medical education in
Indiana and ended up learning quite a bit about grave robbers in the
process.
Centuries ago, Dr. Daly tells us, physicians-in-training used criminals'
and unclaimed bodies to study anatomy. By the 1700s, however, grave
robbing was rampant. During the late 1800s in Indianapolis, 80 - 120
bodies per year were purchased from grave robbers for medical instruction.
Dr. Daly describes the ghoulish practice and how newspapers brought
the matter to national attention. At the first of the 20th century,
the Indiana legislature passed a law allowing body donation.
Dr. Walter Daly joined the faculty of IU School of Medicine in 1962
and served as full professor, chairman of the department of medicine,
dean of the IU School of Medicine and director of the IU Medical Center.
He retired in 1995 and is Dean Emeritus and J.O. Ritchey Professor Emeritus
of Medicine.
- Resources
-
- A short
article on the history of grave robbing for medical education
was published in the March 6, 2002 issue of the Journal of the
American Medical Association.
- And
here's a fascinating read, a history
of dissection and cadavers from the University of Pennsylvania, complete with medical illustrations gleaned from long-ago dissections.
- An
article from the journal British
Archaelology (October 1999) describes how teaching surgery
and anatomy often meant breaking the law when supplies of bodies were
low.
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Weekly Notebook — Donate your body to medical science
Medical schools use whole body donations for teaching human anatomy. It
is advisable to register your intent with the medical school of your choice.
Medical schools make every effort to accept the donation unless there
are medical contraindications.
Anatomical Education Program
IU School of Medicine
635 Barnhill Drive
Med Sci 259
Indianapolis, IN 46202-5120
Phone: 317-274-7450
For a national list of medical schools that accept whole body donations,
visit the Living
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