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Dissection: Photographs of a Rite of Passage in American Medicine 1880a-1930

by John Harley Warner

A photographic record of dissection in American medical training

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Hardcover New English

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AlbakiReads Editorial

A photographic record of dissection in American medical training

Spanning 1880 to 1930, this volume gathers 138 historical photographs made by American medical students alongside the cadavers they dissected. The images document a largely private practice in which students used the camera to mark an encounter with their “first patients.” Essays by two subject specialists place the photographs within the history of medical education, giving the collection a framework beyond its striking visual archive. It is a focused record of how photography, anatomy instruction, and student identity intersected during a formative period in American medicine.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in the history of medicine and medical education
  • Photography readers interested in archival and vernacular images
  • Those studying anatomy, visual culture, or American social history

Themes

Medical educationAnatomy and dissectionHistorical photographyAmerican medicineStudent identity

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

"Cadavers, camera, action!" (The New York Times Book Review). From the advent of photography in the 19th and into the 20th century, medical students, often in secrecy, took photographs of themselves with the cadavers that they dissected: their first patients. Featuring 138 of these historic photographs and illuminating essays by two experts on the subject, Dissection reveals a startling piece of American history. Sherwin Nuland, MD, said this is "a truly unique and important book [that] documents a period in medical education in a way that is matched by no other existing contribution." And Mary Roach said Dissection "is the most extraordinary book I have ever seen--the perfect coffee table book for all the households where I'd most like to be invited for coffee."
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