Week 4: MedTech + Art

Before this week’s assignment, I never knew that art played such a significant role within medicine. I wouldn’t have believed or even considered that practicing medicine is an art. Thinking back on it now, I can understand how it can be considered art.

http://www.tvmuzos.lt/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/body-worlds-vital-eksponatai-5486ca598e411.jpg

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPzw9HTYAfmtT-ZzH7oUKEsx735NmfgLzuCDKk2m9uQPXmteXKwCZcg5nlQ7ll5eEY6R_v54r06nH672nN1Ak3VAlmUDMlVlkojktS3tNvqRvXu90lJQvlTEpz46eKioe-15slCcCO-S1N/s1600-h/ankle.JPG

I am a gymnast here at UCLA and in 2014 I was here for a gymnastics camp and ended up injuring my ankle that required surgery. I personally believe that doctors can be considered artists when it comes to preforming surgery, especially when it comes to the more serious and complex surgeries. Before going into surgery we had to decide what type of surgery to perform on my ankle and we decided that I needed a complete ankle reconstruction. Months after the surgery I needed to go back in to get an MRI to make sure that everything had healed properly. When people within society see an image, they automatically think art, but an MRI ultimately falls under the category of science and art.

Before surgery I looked at an original MRI of my hurt ankle and compared it to an example of a plasticized model of a properly functioning ankle. Looking at this model reminded me of the time I went to a BodyWorlds exhibit. Visiting the BodyWorlds exhibit broadened my view on medical practice, as I realized that there are many artistic ways to view medicine, other than the in its historically practical sense.

http://archive.protomag.com/statics/SU_08_Grays_1e_6_a_hz.jpg

Gray’s Anatomy was published in 1858 and is a book demonstrating the evolution of medical illustrations of the human body. This is an older form of medical technology and is either on almost every artists shelf or by their side. The fascination with the body continues today and is becoming very advanced. 

Sources:

“Current Exhibitions.” Exhibitions. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2016

Gray, Henry, Peter L. Williams, and Henry Gray. Gray’s Anatomy. Edinburgh: C. Livingstone, 1989. Print. 

"MRI - Magnetic Resonance Imaging." :Foot and Ankle Common Disorders. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2016

"The Intersection of Art and Medicine." Colby Magazine. 2015. Web. 24 Apr. 2016

Video lectures 1 and 2 by Professor Vesna
( https://cole2.uconline.edu/courses/484297/pages/unit-4-view?module_item_id=8599397)