Unveiling Biomedical Science: From Origins to Modern Innovations

1. Chapter 1Major Themes of Anatomy & Physiology • Form and Function • Origins of Biomedical Science • Scientific Method • Human Origins and Adaptations • Human Structure • Human Function • Language of Medicine

2. Anatomy - The Study of Form • Observation of surface structure • Cadaver dissection is cutting & separation of organs to study their relationships • Comparative anatomy is the study of more than one species to analyze evolutionary trends • Physical examination • palpation, auscultation, percussion • Gross anatomy is what is visible with naked eye • Histology is examination of cells with microscope

3. Early Anatomical Drawings

4. Physiology - The Study of Function • Study of bodily functions by use of methods of experimental science • Comparative physiology involves the study of different species • Basis for the development of new drugs and medical procedures • Anatomy is what shapes there are, Physiology is what those shapes do

6. Beginnings of Medicine • Physicians in Mesopotamia & Egypt 3000 years ago used herbal drugs, salts & physical therapy • Greek physician Hippocrates established a code of ethics & urged physicians to seek causes of disease • Aristotle called causes for disease physiologi & said that complex structures are built from simpler parts • Galen, physician to the Roman gladiators, saw science as a method of discovery • did animal dissections since use of cadavers banned • wrote book advising followers to trust their own observation

7. Birth of Modern Medicine • Vesalius published accurate gross anatomy atlas (1543) • Leeuwenhoek invented microscope to look at fabrics (1632-1723) • Hooke (1665) and Zeiss (1860) developed & improved compound microscope (described plant cell walls in 1665) • Schleiden & Schwann thought that all organisms were composed of cells -- cell theory of 1839 • Clinical practice was in dismal state • bleeding to remove toxins, operate with dirty hands, no anesthesia for amputations

8. Early Microscopes

9. Living in a Revolution • Pioneers in 19th & 20th centuries • established scientific way of thinking • replaced superstition with natural laws • momentous discoveries • germ theory of disease • heredity & structure of DNA • Now at threshold of modern biomedical science • technology enhanced diagnostic ability & life-support strategies • genetic revolution --library of the molecular structure of every human gene is finished • Gene therapy being used to treat disease

10. Scientific Method • Bacon (1561-1626) and Descartes (1596-1650) • were not scientists but did invent new habits of scientific thought • scientific method as habits of disciplined creativity, careful observations, logical thinking & analysis of observations • way of seeking trends & drawing generalizations • Convinced governments of England & France to form academies of science that still exist today • Scientific way of thinking based on assumptions & methods that are reliable, objective & testable

11. Inductive Method Making observations until capable of drawing generalizations and making predictions • anatomy is a product of inductive method • Proof in science can not go past “proved beyond reasonable doubt” • reliable methods of observation • tested and confirmed repeatedly • not falsified by any credible observation • In science, all truth is tentative

12. Hypothetico-Deductive Method • Physiological knowledge gained by this method • Ask a question and formulate a hypothesis -- an educated possible answer • Good hypothesis • consistent with what is already known • capable of being tested and falsified with certain evidence • If nothing could prove it wrong, it is not a scientific belief • Hypotheses are written as If-Then predictions • modified and rewritten after testing

14. Experimental Design • Sufficient sample size to prevent chance event • Control group and treatment group receive the same treatment except for the variable being tested • Prevention of psychosomatic effects • use of placebo in control group • Experimenter bias • prevented with double-blind study • Statistical testing to be sure the difference between groups was not random, but was due to variable being tested

15. Peer Review • Critical evaluation by other experts in the field • prior to funding • verification and repeatability of results • Ensures honesty, objectivity & quality in science

16. Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang of South Africa, known for putting vegetable remedies ahead of anti-retrovirals, endorses Dr Matthias Rath's vitamin treatments.

17. A doctor who worked with Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling has taken the advocacy of vitamins into all-out war on the pharmaceutical companies Buys ad space in the NY Times, and fills them with editorials masked as facts Without getting confirmation of his studies is taking his cure to the people of Africa Problems: Too much Vitamin C can lead to Diarrhea which can kill an AIDS patient. Dr. Rath and his cure for AIDS: Mega Doses of Vitamin C

18. Facts, Laws and Theories • Scientific fact is information that can be independently verified by any trained person • iron deficiency leads to anemia • Law of nature is a description of the way matter and energy behave • resulting from inductive reasoning & repeated observations • written as verbal statements or mathematical formulae • Theory is a summary of conclusions drawn from observable facts • it provides explanations and predictions • sliding filament theory of muscle contraction

19. Logic is the anatomy of thought -John Locke • Conditional arguments: the basis of hypothesis forming. Two parts • Part 1: If p then q • P = antecedent • Q = Consequent • Part 2 allows us to draw conclusions • If P happens then Q happens (Modus Ponens • If Q did not happen, P did not happen (Modus Tollens)

20. There is a claim that lycopene, the reddish substance in tomatoes and peppers, is of value in protecting people from Alzheimer Disease. How would you, as a scientist, go about substantiating or refuting this suggestion?