Washington Square West in Philadelphia in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
"Ars Medendi" is an artwork by Jim Sanborn
Photographed By Devry Becker Jones (CC0), January 27, 2024
1. "Ars Medendi" is an artwork by Jim Sanborn Marker
Inscription.
"Ars Medendi" is an artwork by Jim Sanborn. .
The following is a list of the translations, transcriptions, and sources for the texts on the screen . 1. Homo Sapiens 2000 AD
1 ccttagacat ttaattttatc attttgccat cattgcaact ccttggctaa ttgttccatg 61 gagtatgtat agaacgtact aattatgaaa ttatagaata tattgttact caatattagt 121 aaattgcata ttgcacatat aggaattttc tgttttgtag gcttttctag atatgttata 181 ttttacctta gtaaatgtcc ttatttacta actgaaatat tacttgttta ttatcattcc 241 aaagaagcgt catatcctga acgctttagt ttactgatca ctgaaataag accgtggtgt 301 gggaagagag agagagagag agaattccaa tttttctcat tctcatgcat aaaagatcaa 361 tcatagaagc atagttttga tgtgatgata tgtcctgtta tttgtattgt gaaaatagat 421 ttgtctaaca atatttgttc ggaaatagaa catttggact ttttaagcat tacttttaac This genomic sequence was established in Japan at the University of Tokyo by Y. Nakamura, and K. Koyama in 2000. Published only in database 2000.
2. Pliny 79 AD "Fire, even by itself, has a curative power. It is well established that epidemics caused by an eclipse of the sun are alleviated in many ways by the lighting of bonfires. Empedocles and Hippocrates have proved this in various passages of their writings. 'For abdominal cramp or bruises,' states Marcus Varro, and I quote his very words, 'your hearth should be your medicine chest. Drink lye made from its ashes, and you will be cured. One can see how gladiators after a combat are helped by drinking this.' Moreover, anthrax, a disease which, as I have mentioned, lately carried off two ex-consuls, may be cured by means of oak charcoal ground and mixed with honey. So true is it, that there is some benefit to be found even in substances that are utterly rejected and have cased to have any true existence, as we see here and now with charcoal and ashes." Translator: D.E. Eichholz, Harvard, Loebs., 3. Gross 1861 AD "When the wound is severe, or involving a large artery or vein, or even middle-sized vessels, the bleeding may prove fatal in a few minutes, unless immediate assisted is rendered. Hundreds of persons die on the field of battle from this cause. They allow their life-current to run out, as water pours from a hydrant, without an attempt to stop it by thrusting the finger in the wound, or compressing the main artery of the injured limb. They perish simply from their ignorance, because the regimental surgeon has failed to give the proper instruction." Drawn from: Military Surgery, Dr. Samuel Gross, 1861., 4. China 300 BC "This is a list of Chinese hers used for centuries for curing a variety of ailments. The Latin names for these herbs are listed on the metal screen and the following is a list of their common names and uses. "Clove; for pain in the stomach, Red Ginseng; regulates central nervous system, Notoginseng root; stops bleeding, Salvia Root; antithrombotic, Marijuana; anesthetic effect, Akebia Caulis; urinary tract infection, Woad Root; anti-micro organism, Natural Indigo; high fever in infectious sickness, Wingless Cockroach; for blood stasis, Ceylon Rose, strong cardiac stimulant." Drawn from: Dictionary of Chinese Herbs, Joe Hing Kwok Chu., 5. Hammurabi 2000 BC "If the doctor has treated a gentleman for a severe wound with a lance of bronze and has caused the gentleman to die, or has opened an abscess of the eye for a gentleman and has caused the loss of the gentleman's eye, one shall cut off his hands." Drawn from: The oldest code of laws in the world Translator: C.H.W. Johns, Edinburg, 1903., 6. Da Vinci 1508 AD "The same process also comes to pass in the bodies of the animals by means of the beating of the heart, whereby there is produced a wave of blood in all the veins, and these are continually either enlarging or contracting because the expansion occurs when they receive the excessive quantity of blood, and the contraction is due to the departure of the excess of blood they have received: and this is the beating of the pulse teaches us, when we touch the afordsaid veins with the fingers in any part whatsoever of the living body. But to return to our purpose, I say that the flesh of the animals is made anew by the blood which is continually produced by that which nourishes them, and that this flesh is destroyed and returns by the mesaraic arteries and passes them into the intestines, where it putrefies in a foul and fetid death." Drawn from: The Literary Works of Leonardo Da Vinci, Jean Paul Richter, University of California Press, 1977., 7. Louis Pasteur 1886 AD "This water, this sponge, this lint with which you wash or cover a wound, may deposit germs which have the power of multiplying rapidly within the tissue.... If I had the honor of being a surgeon…not only would I use none but perfectly clean instruments, but I would clean my hands with the greatest care…I would use only lint, bandages and sponges previously exposed to a temperature of 1300 to 1500 degrees." Drawn from a lecture given by Pasteur in 1886 Translator: Catrine Yelloz., 8. Qi Bo 450 BC "The Yellow Emperor asked, 'Is there any alternative to the law of Yin and Yang?' QiBo answered: 'When Yang is the stronger, the body is hot, the pores are closed, and people begin to pant; they become boisterous and coarse and do not perspire. They become feverish, their mouths are dry and sore, their stomachs feel tight, and they die of constipation. When Yang is the stronger, people can endure winter but not summer. When Yin is the stronger, the body is cold and covered with perspiration. People realize they are ill; they tremble and feel chilly. When they feel chilled, their spirits become rebellious. Their stomachs can no longer digest food and they die. When Yin is stronger, people can endure summer but not winter. Thus Yin and Yang alternate. Their ebbs and surges vary, and so does the character of the diseases.'" Drawn from: Chinese Civilization: A Sourcebook, Patricia Ebrey., 9. Gray's Anatomy 1905 AD "The application of a ligature to the external iliac may be required in cases of aneurism of the femoral artery or for a wound of the artery. This vessel may be secured in any part of its course, excepting near its upper end, which is to be avoided on account of the proximity of the great stream of blood in the internal iliac, and near its lower end, which should also be avoided on account of the proximity of the deep epigastric and circumflex iliac vessels. The patient having been placed in the supine position, an incision should be made, commencing below at a point about three-quarters of an inch above Poupart's ligament, and a little external to its middle, and running upward and outward, parallel to Poupart's ligament, to a point one inch internal and one inch above the anterior superior spine of the ilium. When the artery is deeply seated, more room will be required, and many be obtained by curving the incision from the point last named inward toward the umbilicus for a short distance." Drawn from: Anatomy, Descriptive and Surgical, Dr. Henry Gray, New American Edition, 1905 Edited by: John Chalmers De Costa, Thomas Jefferson University, 10. Galen 150 AD "As for the actual substance of the coats of the stomach, intestine, and uterus, each of these has been rendered what it is by a special alternative faculty of Nature; while the bringing of these together, the combination therewith of the structures which are inserted into them, the outgrowth into the intestine, the shape of the inner cavities, and the like, have all been determined by a faculty which we call the shaping or formative faculty; this faculty we also state to be artistic , nay, the best and the highest art." Translator: Arthur John Brock, Harvard, Loebs., 11. Luxor 2600 BC "If thou examinest a man having a break in his upper arm, and thou findest his upper arm hanging down, separated from its fellow. Thou shouldst place him prostrate on his back, with something folded between his two shoulder-blades; thou shouldst spread out his shoulders, in order to stretch apart his upper arm until that break falls into its place. Thou shouldst make him two splints of linen, (and) thou shouldst apply one of them to the inside of his arm, (and) the other of them to the underside of the arm. Thou shouldst bind it with sinew, (and) treat afterward with honey every day until he recovers." Drawn from: The Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus. Translator: J. Henry Brested, 1930., 12 Maturin 1800 AD "And Stephen was obliged to call for another lantern to check and lay out his instruments and the meagre store of bandages, lint, tourniquets and pledgets. He was sitting there with Northcote's Marine Practice held close to the light, carefully reading '…having divided the skin, order the same assistant to draw it up as much as possible; then cut through the flesh and bones circularly,' when Jack came down." Drawn from: Master and Commander, Patrick O'Brian, W.W. Norton, 1970., 13. Pliny 79 AD "Lime is commonly also used in pharmacy, preferably freshly calcined and unslaken. It has caustic, dispersive and drawing effects, and checks an onset of ulcers which shows signs of spreading quickly. It brings out the formation of scars when it is mixed as a liniment with vinegar and rose oil and is later blended with wax and rose oil. It is a cure also for dislocations when applied with liquid resin or pork fat mixed with honey, and the same mixture, moreover, cures scrofulous sores." Translator: D.E. Eichholz, Harvard, Loebs., 14. Hammurabi 2000 BC "If a doctor has treated a gentleman for a severe wound with a bronze lance and has cured the man, or has opened an obscess of the eye for a gentleman and has cured the eye of the gentleman, he shall take ten shekels of silver." Drawn from: The oldest code of laws in the world Translator C.H.W. Johns, Edinburg, 1903., 15. Gross 1861 AD "Among the accidents of war are burns, and, occasionally, also scalds. The formerly may be produced by ordinary fire or by the explosion of gunpowder. Various remedies have been proposed for these injuries. I have myself always found white-lead paint, such as that employed in the arts, mixed with linseed oil to the consistence of very thick cream, and applied so as to form a complete coating, the most soothing and efficient means. The dressing is finished by enveloping the parts in wadding, confined by a moderately tight roller. It should not be removed, unless there is much discharge or swelling, for several days." Drawn from: Military Surgery, Dr. Samuel Gross, 1861, 16. Barnard 1967 AD "It was a natural progression of open heart surgery. We did not think it was a great event and there was no special feeling. I was happy when I saw the heart beating again. We did not stand up or cheer or something like that. I didn't even inform the hospital authorities that I was going to do the operation." Drawn from a speech given by Dr. Christian Barnard, referring to the first heart transplant in 1967., 17. Galen 150 AD "The fact is that those who are enslaved to their sects are not merely devoid of all sound knowledge, but they will not even stop to learn! Instead of listening, as they ought, to the reason why liquid can enter the bladder through the ureters, but is unable to go back again the same way , instead of admiring Nature's artistic skill , they refuse to learn; they even go so far as to scoff, and maintain that the kidneys, as well as many other things, have been made by Nature for no purpose! And some of them who had allowed themselves to be shown the ureters coming from the kidneys and becoming implanted in the bladder, even had the audacity to say that these also existed for no purpose; and others said that they were spermatic ducts, and that this was sy they were inserted into the neck of the bladder and not into its cavity." Translator: Arthur John Brock, Harvard, Loebs., 18. Feijoo 1650 AD "But I do in fact agree with the common opinion that in some cases it is convenient to bleed, and this I believe. What remains is the difficulty of when and how much. Concerning how much, we cannot set a fixed amount; because it depends on the magnitude of the patient, and of the painful pressure, that one doctor has better judgment, and the other poor. Concerning when, there are many and such opposing verdicts that they cannot help but cause extreme confusion and doubt in the Medicine field, like a dangerous state of error." Drawn from the writings of the Spanish physician Benito Jerónimo Feijoo in 1650., 19. Abyssinia 1850 AD "A particularly remarkable operation in which and injured patient operated on himself was described by De Jacobis. He stated that the man "first filled a wooden bowl with butter, which he covered with a bladder, like a very fine net, of a cow recently killed. Then, sitting down on the ground, he opened the lower stomach with a razor, took out his intestines and placed them in the net (which was still hot), cleaned them, and placed them carefully back in their proper place. He then sewed up the wound, and lying down on his back, took as little food as possible till the wound was healed and a complete cure effected." Drawn from: An Introduction to the Medical History of Ethiopia, Richard Pankhurst, Red Sea Press, 20. Maturin 1800 AD "But this is a depressed cranial fracture, sir, and I must use the trephine: here he lies, you notice the characteristic stertor?, and I think he is safe until the morning. But as soon as the sun is up I must have off the top of his skull with my little saw. You will see the gunner's brain, my dear sir,' he added with a smile. 'Or at least his dura mater.' 'Oh dear, oh dear,' murmured Jack. Deep depression was settling on him , anticlimax , such a bloody little engagement for so little , two good men killed , the gunner almost certainly dead , no man could survive having his brain opened, that stood to reason , and the others might easily die too, they so often did." Drawn from Master and Commander, Patrick O'Brian, W.W. Norton, 1970., 21. Seneca Nation 1500 AD "In the northern parts of Pennsylvania, there is a creek called Oil Creek, which emptied itself into the Allegheny River, issuing from a spring, on the top of which floats an oil, similar to what is called Barbados tar, and from which may be collected, by one man, several gallons in a day. The troops, in marching that way, halted at the spring, collected the oil, and bathed their joints with it. This gave them great relief, and freed them immediately from the rheumatic complains with which many of them were affected. The troops drank freely of the water: , they operated as a gentle purge." Drawn from: Travels in America, Thomas Ashe, London 1808., 22. Gray's Anatomy 1905 AD "The femoral artery commences immediately behind Poupart's ligament, midway between the anterior superior spine of the ilium and the symphysis pubis, and, passing down the forepart and inner side of the thigh, terminates at the opening in the Adductor magnus, at the junction of the middle with the lower third of the thigh, where it becomes the popliteal artery. The vessel, at the upper part of the thigh, lies in front of the hip-joint, just on a line with the innermost part of the head of the femur; in the lower part of its course, it is in close relation with the inner side of the shaft of the bone, and between these two parts the vessel is some distance from the bone. In the 8pper third of the thigh it is contained in a triangular space called Scarpa's Triangle. In the middle third of the thigh it is contained in an aponeurotic canal called Hunter's Canal." Drawn from: Anatomy, Descriptive and Surgical, Dr. Henry Gray, New American Edition, 1905 Edited by: John Chalmers Da Costa, Thomas Jefferson University., Da Vinci 1508 AD , The following text on the curbing and paving arc was written by Leonardo Da Vinci 1508 AD "And this old man, a few hours before his death, told me that he had passed one hundred years, and that he was conscious of no failure of the body, except feebleness. And, thus sitting upon a bed in the hospital of Santa Maria Nuova at Florence, without any untoward movement or sign, he passed from this life. And I made an anatomy to see the cause of a death so sweet, which I found to proceed from debility through lack of blood and deficiency of the artery (aorta) which nourishes the heart an the other lower members. I found this artery very desiccated, shrunken and withered. This anatomy I described very carefully and with great ease owing to the absence of fat and humour which rather hinder recognition of the parts. The other anatomy was that of a child of two years in which I found everything to be the opposite to that of the old man. The old who enjoy good health die through lack of sustenance. And that is brought about by the passage to the mesaraic veins becoming continually restricted by the thickening of the skin of these veins, and the process continues until it affects the capillary veins, which are the first to close up altogether; and from this it comes to pass that the old dread the cold more than the young, and that those who are very old have their skin the colour of wood or of dried chestnut, because this skin is almost completely deprived of sustenance. And this network of veins acts in man as in oranges, in which the peel becomes thicker and the pulp diminishes the more they become old. And if you say that the blood becomes thicker it ceases to flow through the veins, this is not true, for the blood in the veins does not ticken because it continually dies and is renewed. Drawn from: The Literary Works of Leonardo Da Vinci, Jean Paul Richter, University of California Press, 1977.
The following is a list of the translations, transcriptions, and sources for the texts on the screen
1. Homo Sapiens 2000 AD
1 ccttagacat ttaattttatc attttgccat cattgcaact ccttggctaa ttgttccatg 61 gagtatgtat agaacgtact aattatgaaa ttatagaata tattgttact caatattagt 121 aaattgcata ttgcacatat aggaattttc tgttttgtag gcttttctag atatgttata 181 ttttacctta gtaaatgtcc ttatttacta actgaaatat tacttgttta ttatcattcc 241 aaagaagcgt catatcctga acgctttagt ttactgatca ctgaaataag accgtggtgt 301 gggaagagag agagagagag agaattccaa tttttctcat tctcatgcat aaaagatcaa 361 tcatagaagc atagttttga tgtgatgata tgtcctgtta tttgtattgt gaaaatagat 421 ttgtctaaca atatttgttc ggaaatagaa catttggact ttttaagcat tacttttaac This genomic sequence was established in Japan at the University of Tokyo by Y. Nakamura, and K. Koyama in 2000. Published only in database 2000.
2. Pliny 79 AD "Fire, even by itself, has a curative power. It is well established that epidemics caused by an eclipse of the sun are alleviated in many ways by the lighting of bonfires. Empedocles and Hippocrates have proved this in various passages of their writings. 'For abdominal cramp or bruises,' states Marcus Varro, and
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I quote his very words, 'your hearth should be your medicine chest. Drink lye made from its ashes, and you will be cured. One can see how gladiators after a combat are helped by drinking this.' Moreover, anthrax, a disease which, as I have mentioned, lately carried off two ex-consuls, may be cured by means of oak charcoal ground and mixed with honey. So true is it, that there is some benefit to be found even in substances that are utterly rejected and have cased to have any true existence, as we see here and now with charcoal and ashes." Translator: D.E. Eichholz, Harvard, Loebs.
3. Gross 1861 AD "When the wound is severe, or involving a large artery or vein, or even middle-sized vessels, the bleeding may prove fatal in a few minutes, unless immediate assisted is rendered. Hundreds of persons die on the field of battle from this cause. They allow their life-current to run out, as water pours from a hydrant, without an attempt to stop it by thrusting the finger in the wound, or compressing the main artery of the injured limb. They perish simply from their ignorance, because the regimental surgeon has failed to give the proper instruction." Drawn from: Military Surgery, Dr. Samuel Gross, 1861.
4. China 300 BC "This is a list of Chinese hers used for centuries for curing a variety of ailments.
Photographed By Devry Becker Jones (CC0), January 27, 2024
2. Ars Medendi with the interpretive marker visible on the structure in the background
The Latin names for these herbs are listed on the metal screen and the following is a list of their common names and uses. "Clove; for pain in the stomach, Red Ginseng; regulates central nervous system, Notoginseng root; stops bleeding, Salvia Root; antithrombotic, Marijuana; anesthetic effect, Akebia Caulis; urinary tract infection, Woad Root; anti-micro organism, Natural Indigo; high fever in infectious sickness, Wingless Cockroach; for blood stasis, Ceylon Rose, strong cardiac stimulant." Drawn from: Dictionary of Chinese Herbs, Joe Hing Kwok Chu.
5. Hammurabi 2000 BC "If the doctor has treated a gentleman for a severe wound with a lance of bronze and has caused the gentleman to die, or has opened an abscess of the eye for a gentleman and has caused the loss of the gentleman's eye, one shall cut off his hands." Drawn from: The oldest code of laws in the world
Translator: C.H.W. Johns, Edinburg, 1903.
6. Da Vinci 1508 AD "The same process also comes to pass in the bodies of the animals by means of the beating of the heart, whereby there is produced a wave of blood in all the veins, and these are continually either enlarging or contracting because the expansion occurs when they receive the excessive quantity of blood, and the contraction is due to the departure of the excess of blood
they have received: and this is the beating of the pulse teaches us, when we touch the afordsaid veins with the fingers in any part whatsoever of the living body. But to return to our purpose, I say that the flesh of the animals is made anew by the blood which is continually produced by that which nourishes them, and that this flesh is destroyed and returns by the mesaraic arteries and passes them into the intestines, where it putrefies in a foul and fetid death." Drawn from: The Literary Works of Leonardo Da Vinci, Jean Paul Richter, University of California Press, 1977.
7. Louis Pasteur 1886 AD "This water, this sponge, this lint with which you wash or cover a wound, may deposit germs which have the power of multiplying rapidly within the tissue.... If I had the honor of being a surgeon…not only would I use none but perfectly clean instruments, but I would clean my hands with the greatest care…I would use only lint, bandages and sponges previously exposed to a temperature of 1300 to 1500 degrees." Drawn from a lecture given by Pasteur in 1886
Translator: Catrine Yelloz.
8. Qi Bo 450 BC "The Yellow Emperor asked, 'Is there any alternative to the law of Yin and Yang?' QiBo answered: 'When Yang is the stronger, the body is hot, the pores are closed, and people begin to pant; they become boisterous and coarse and do not perspire. They become feverish, their mouths are dry and sore, their stomachs feel tight, and they die of constipation. When Yang is the stronger, people can endure winter but not summer. When Yin is the stronger, the body is cold and covered with perspiration. People realize they are ill; they tremble and feel chilly. When they feel chilled, their spirits become rebellious. Their stomachs can no longer digest food and they die. When Yin is stronger, people can endure summer but not winter. Thus Yin and Yang alternate. Their ebbs and surges vary, and so does the character of the diseases.'" Drawn from: Chinese Civilization: A Sourcebook, Patricia Ebrey.
9. Gray's Anatomy 1905 AD "The application of a ligature to the external iliac may be required in cases of aneurism of the femoral artery or for a wound of the artery. This vessel may be secured in any part of its course, excepting near its upper end, which is to be avoided on account of the proximity of the great stream of blood in the internal iliac, and near its lower end, which should also be avoided on account of the proximity of the deep epigastric and circumflex iliac vessels. The patient having been placed in the supine position, an incision should be made, commencing below at a point about three-quarters of an inch above Poupart's ligament, and a little external to its middle, and running upward and outward, parallel to Poupart's ligament, to a point one inch internal and one inch above the anterior superior spine of the ilium. When the artery is deeply seated, more room will be required, and many be obtained by curving the incision from the point last named inward toward the umbilicus for a short distance." Drawn from: Anatomy, Descriptive and Surgical, Dr. Henry Gray, New American Edition, 1905
Edited by: John Chalmers De Costa, Thomas Jefferson University
10. Galen 150 AD "As for the actual substance of the coats of the stomach, intestine, and uterus, each of these has been rendered what it is by a special alternative faculty of Nature; while the bringing of these together, the combination therewith of the structures which are inserted into them, the outgrowth into the intestine, the shape of the inner cavities, and the like, have all been determined by a faculty which we call the shaping or formative faculty; this faculty we also state to be artistic — nay, the best and the highest art." Translator: Arthur John Brock, Harvard, Loebs.
11. Luxor 2600 BC "If thou examinest a man having a break in his upper arm, and thou findest his upper arm hanging down, separated from its fellow. Thou shouldst place him prostrate on his back, with something folded between his two shoulder-blades; thou shouldst spread out his shoulders, in order to stretch apart his upper arm until that break falls into its place. Thou shouldst make him two splints of linen, (and) thou shouldst apply one of them to the inside of his arm, (and) the other of them to the underside of the arm. Thou shouldst bind it with sinew, (and) treat afterward with honey every day until he recovers." Drawn from: The Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus.
Translator: J. Henry Brested, 1930.
12 Maturin 1800 AD "And Stephen was obliged to call for another lantern to check and lay out his instruments and the meagre store of bandages, lint, tourniquets and pledgets. He was sitting there with Northcote's Marine Practice held close to the light, carefully reading '…having divided the skin, order the same assistant to draw it up as much as possible; then cut through the flesh and bones circularly,' when Jack came down." Drawn from: Master and Commander, Patrick O'Brian, W.W. Norton, 1970.
13. Pliny 79 AD "Lime is commonly also used in pharmacy, preferably freshly calcined and unslaken. It has caustic, dispersive and drawing effects, and checks an onset of ulcers which shows signs of spreading quickly. It brings out the formation of scars when it is mixed as a liniment with vinegar and rose oil and is later blended with wax and rose oil. It is a cure also for dislocations when applied with liquid resin or pork fat mixed with honey, and the same mixture, moreover, cures scrofulous sores." Translator: D.E. Eichholz, Harvard, Loebs.
14. Hammurabi 2000 BC "If a doctor has treated a gentleman for a severe wound with a bronze lance and has cured the man, or has opened an obscess of the eye for a gentleman and has cured the eye of the gentleman, he shall take ten shekels of silver." Drawn from: The oldest code of laws in the world
Translator C.H.W. Johns, Edinburg, 1903.
15. Gross 1861 AD "Among the accidents of war are burns, and, occasionally, also scalds. The formerly may be produced by ordinary fire or by the explosion of gunpowder. Various remedies have been proposed for these injuries. I have myself always found white-lead paint, such as that employed in the arts, mixed with linseed oil to the consistence of very thick cream, and applied so as to form a complete coating, the most soothing and efficient means. The dressing is finished by enveloping the parts in wadding, confined by a moderately tight roller. It should not be removed, unless there is much discharge or swelling, for several days." Drawn from: Military Surgery, Dr. Samuel Gross, 1861
16. Barnard 1967 AD "It was a natural progression of open heart surgery. We did not think it was a great event and there was no special feeling. I was happy when I saw the heart beating again. We did not stand up or cheer or something like that. I didn't even inform the hospital authorities that I was going to do the operation." Drawn from a speech given by Dr. Christian Barnard, referring to the first heart transplant in 1967.
17. Galen 150 AD "The fact is that those who are enslaved to their sects are not merely devoid of all sound knowledge, but they will not even stop to learn! Instead of listening, as they ought, to the reason why liquid can enter the bladder through the ureters, but is unable to go back again the same way — instead of admiring Nature's artistic skill — they refuse to learn; they even go so far as to scoff, and maintain that the kidneys, as well as many other things, have been made by Nature for no purpose! And some of them who had allowed themselves to be shown the ureters coming from the kidneys and becoming implanted in the bladder, even had the audacity to say that these also existed for no purpose; and others said that they were spermatic ducts, and that this was sy they were inserted into the neck of the bladder and not into its cavity." Translator: Arthur John Brock, Harvard, Loebs.
18. Feijoo 1650 AD "But I do in fact agree with the common opinion that in some cases it is convenient to bleed, and this I believe. What remains is the difficulty of when and how much. Concerning how much, we cannot set a fixed amount; because it depends on the magnitude of the patient, and of the painful pressure, that one doctor has better judgment, and the other poor. Concerning when, there are many and such opposing verdicts that they cannot help but cause extreme confusion and doubt in the Medicine field, like a dangerous state of error." Drawn from the writings of the Spanish physician Benito Jerónimo Feijoo in 1650.
19. Abyssinia 1850 AD "A particularly remarkable operation in which and injured patient operated on himself was described by De Jacobis. He stated that the man "first filled a wooden bowl with butter, which he covered with a bladder, like a very fine net, of a cow recently killed. Then, sitting down on the ground, he opened the lower stomach with a razor, took out his intestines and placed them in the net (which was still hot), cleaned them, and placed them carefully back in their proper place. He then sewed up the wound, and lying down on his back, took as little food as possible till the wound was healed and a complete cure effected." Drawn from: An Introduction to the Medical History of Ethiopia, Richard Pankhurst, Red Sea Press
20. Maturin 1800 AD "But this is a depressed cranial fracture, sir, and I must use the trephine: here he lies—you notice the characteristic stertor?—and I think he is safe until the morning. But as soon as the sun is up I must have off the top of his skull with my little saw. You will see the gunner's brain, my dear sir,' he added with a smile. 'Or at least his dura mater.' 'Oh dear, oh dear,' murmured Jack. Deep depression was settling on him — anticlimax — such a bloody little engagement for so little — two good men killed — the gunner almost certainly dead — no man could survive having his brain opened, that stood to reason — and the others might easily die too—they so often did." Drawn from Master and Commander, Patrick O'Brian, W.W. Norton, 1970.
21. Seneca Nation 1500 AD "In the northern parts of Pennsylvania, there is a creek called Oil Creek, which emptied itself into the Allegheny River, issuing from a spring, on the top of which floats an oil, similar to what is called Barbados tar, and from which may be collected, by one man, several gallons in a day. The troops, in marching that way, halted at the spring, collected the oil, and bathed their joints with it. This gave them great relief, and freed them immediately from the rheumatic complains with which many of them were affected. The troops drank freely of the water: —they operated as a gentle purge." Drawn from: Travels in America, Thomas Ashe, London 1808.
22. Gray's Anatomy 1905 AD "The femoral artery commences immediately behind Poupart's ligament, midway between the anterior superior spine of the ilium and the symphysis pubis, and, passing down the forepart and inner side of the thigh, terminates at the opening in the Adductor magnus, at the junction of the middle with the lower third of the thigh, where it becomes the popliteal artery. The vessel, at the upper part of the thigh, lies in front of the hip-joint, just on a line with the innermost part of the head of the femur; in the lower part of its course, it is in close relation with the inner side of the shaft of the bone, and between these two parts the vessel is some distance from the bone. In the 8pper third of the thigh it is contained in a triangular space called Scarpa's Triangle. In the middle third of the thigh it is contained in an aponeurotic canal called Hunter's Canal." Drawn from: Anatomy, Descriptive and Surgical, Dr. Henry Gray, New American Edition, 1905
Edited by: John Chalmers Da Costa, Thomas Jefferson University.
Da Vinci 1508 AD — The following text on the curbing and paving arc was written by Leonardo Da Vinci 1508 AD "And this old man, a few hours before his death, told me that he had passed one hundred years, and that he was conscious of no failure of the body, except feebleness. And, thus sitting upon a bed in the hospital of Santa Maria Nuova at Florence, without any untoward movement or sign, he passed from this life. And I made an anatomy to see the cause of a death so sweet, which I found to proceed from debility through lack of blood and deficiency of the artery (aorta) which nourishes the heart an the other lower members. I found this artery very desiccated, shrunken and withered. This anatomy I described very carefully and with great ease owing to the absence of fat and humour which rather hinder recognition of the parts. The other anatomy was that of a child of two years in which I found everything to be the opposite to that of the old man. The old who enjoy good health die through lack of sustenance. And that is brought about by the passage to the mesaraic veins becoming continually restricted by the thickening of the skin of these veins, and the process continues until it affects the capillary veins, which are the first to close up altogether; and from this it comes to pass that the old dread the cold more than the young, and that those who are very old have their skin the colour of wood or of dried chestnut, because this skin is almost completely deprived of sustenance. And this network of veins acts in man as in oranges, in which the peel becomes thicker and the pulp diminishes the more they become old. And if you say that the blood becomes thicker it ceases to flow through the veins, this is not true, for the blood in the veins does not ticken because it continually dies and is renewed. Drawn from: The Literary Works of Leonardo Da Vinci, Jean Paul Richter, University of California Press, 1977.
Erected 2006 by Thomas Jefferson University in cooperation with the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Philadelphia One Percent for Public Art Program.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Science & Medicine. A significant historical year for this entry is 2600 BCE.
Location. 39° 56.872′ N, 75° 9.462′ W. Marker is in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia County. It is in Washington Square West. Marker is at the intersection of Locust Street and South 10th Street, on the left when traveling east on Locust Street. The marker is on the grounds of Lubert Plaza. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1000 Walnut St, Philadelphia PA 19107, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Credits. This page was last revised on January 30, 2024. It was originally submitted on January 29, 2024, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 38 times since then. Photos:1, 2. submitted on January 29, 2024, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
