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Science 10 October 2003:
Vol. 302. no. 5643, pp. 232 - 233
DOI: 10.1126/science.1086308
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Essays on Science and Society

Also see the archival list of the Essays on Science and Society.

PERCEPTIONS OF SCIENCE:
The Anatomical Mission to Burma

Michael Sappol

Until the 1830s, most Americans were unfamiliar with the images of anatomy. Then a small vanguard of reformers and missionaries began to preach, at home and around the world, that an identification with the images and concepts of anatomy was a crucial part of the civilizing process. In his essay, Sappol charts the changes in the perception of self that resulted from this anatomical evangelism. Today, as anatomical images abound in the arts and the media, we still believe that anatomical images show us our inner reality.

The author is in the History of Medicine Division, National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD 20894, USA. E-mail: michael_sappol{at}nlm.nih.gov

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)