Technological Fix and Anatomical Body Essay

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Technological Fix and Anatomical Body

19th and 20th Century Surgical Fixes

During the 1800s, surgery had become a common medical procedure due to the discovery of anesthesia which was used in reducing pain during surgery.[footnoteRef:1] In addition, technological fixes were in place for correcting medical conditions such as the removal of tumors. During this period, medical practitioners were able to describe the locations of structures in relation to other structures in the body which ensured they knew the organ's positions and could conduct surgery of various body parts easily. [1: Porter, R. (1999). The Greatest Benefit to Mankind: A Medical History of Humanity from Antiquity to the Present. Fontana Press.]

Following the in-depth understanding of human anatomy and use of antiseptics as well as anesthesia, towards the end of the 19th century, surgeons started performing new types of surgery including dissection of the abdomen, brain, and spinal cord.[footnoteRef:2] In line with this, by the start of the 20th century, improved diagnostic and treatment methods ensured surgery became more effective. It was during this period that Conrad Roentgen, a German physicist unveiled X-rays in 1895 to 'photograph' the inside of the body; this invention greatly changed the way surgery was performed. Besides, Karl Landsteiner, Austrian pathologist discovered blood groups A, B, and O. which helped surgeons give patients transfusions of their own blood type to ensure survival during surgery. [2: Ellis, Harold. A History Of Surgery. Cambridge University Press, 2001.]

In addition, other technological advances such as the development of heart-lung machine in 1953 permitted surgeons to easily and successfully perform surgery on these organs; this marked the onset of modern clinical heart surgery.

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Furthermore, developing the operating microscope in the 1950s helped surgeons perform operations on small body structures like the inner ear and the eye, and enabled surgeons reattach tiny blood vessels from severed limbs to the body.

Freeman's Frontal Lobotomy

New surgical techniques grounded in a model of the anatomical body continue to bring positive results in surgery. In this regard, current surgical technological fixes are more advanced that the past decades. Modern technological fixes include ultrasound, used in eliminating kidney and gallbladder stones. Other interventions include laser surgery, using beams of light to destroy malignant tissue.

Freeman performed prefrontal lobotomy in accordance to his understanding of anatomical view of the patient's body. According to Freeman, since the patient was suffering from mental illness it was necessary to initiate prefrontal lobotomy. The lobotomy was conducted after administering a local anesthesia which made the patient asleep during the surgery.[footnoteRef:3] Weeks after the operation, there were reduced patient disorientation and three months later she resumed housekeeping for her sister and is doing well. [3: Freeman, Walter, and James W. Watts. "Psychosurgery: An Evaluation of Two Hundred Cases over Seven Years." Journal of Mental Science, 90 (379), 1944: 532-537.]

In Dr. Freeman's situation, he initiated the lobotomy by repairing parts of the patient's frontal cortex. According to his understanding of the patient's anatomy, he suggested….....

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