In the museum where I first began studying anatomy in 1965 there was
a plaque bearing this biblical quotation...

The Valley of Dry Bones
-----------------------
The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the
Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it
was full of bones... and behold, they were very dry. And he said to
me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And I answered, "O Lord God,
you know" Then he said to me, "Prophesy over these bones, and say to
them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God
to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you
shall live!"
[Ezekiel 37:1]

Little did I imagine that 41 years later I would live to see dry
bones and dead bodies brought to life in a manner that enacts a
slightly shocking combination of biblical resurrection prophecy and
Frankenstein horror movie!

Anatomy in the 1960s
--------------------
The study of anatomy was both boring and physically unpleasant in
the 1960s, being based largely on the study of the dried, bleached
bones which Ezekiel spoke of, augmented by pickled
corpses. "Pickled" originally meant preserved in alcohol (what a
wonderful way to spend eternity!) however, by the 1960s, the
expensive and highly inflammable alcohol had been replaced
by "formalin" (formaldehyde solution), whose irritating vapour made
your eyes stream as they struggled to avoid the same pickled and
rigid state as the corpse you were dissecting.

In the 1960s there were also massive boring anatomy textbooks to be
memorised - as latin anatomical names and as 2-dimensional diagrams
bearing little resemblance to any 3-dimensional life-form.

Anatomy in the 1970s
--------------------
Seven years later, to my utter amazement, I found myself back in
that same anatomy department doing a PhD in "functional anatomy"
i.e. studying the relationship between anatomical structures and
physiological functions. This was much more interesting than
studying the body's "structure" separatey from studying
its "functioning" i.e. the science of physiology. The science of
anatomy was becoming more practical - more "applied" - and thank
heaven for that!

Not only was structure and function being taught together, but also
live models were now present alongside the corpses, so that the
living and the dead could be studied alongside each other.

Anatomy in the 21st Century
---------------------------
I have just been watching a DVD of the latest in anatomical
educational technology:
http://www.Amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0007SME7M/sunflowerheal-21
Fresh, unpickled human cadavers are now dissected hand-in-hand
(sometimes literally!) with:

* bones of the skeleton
* plastinated tissues
* naked live models of both sexes - adorned with anatomical
diagrams by a specialist anatomical artist
* laser projections of anatomical diagrams, beating heart etc. onto
live human models
* "back to life" animations (somewhat horrifying!) of cadver body
parts

Far from being boring, this educational DVD is a piece of fiendish
movie drama, starring a half-crazed, bizzarely dressed, thickly-
accented, German Professor of "anatomical plastination" hacking away
at the body of a personal friend while a spellbound audience of body-
donors and medical students look on in awe.

As the gasping Professor (is he gasping due to sheer excitement, or
is he on the edge of a coronary - I leave you to judge!), wearing an
incongruous ensemble of 1940s trilby hat and a modern surgical gown,
rips and tears at his departed former associate, a somewhat
pedantic, unemotional, "stiff-upper-lip" British Professor of
Pathology - quite possibly a former corpse, brought to life as part
of an earlier anatomical demonstration - intervenes with a monotone
documentary commentary whose academic aridity is in stark contrast
to the frenetic necrophilia of the aforesaid Professeur de
Plastination.

The DVD is actually derived from last year's Channel 4 "Anatomy for
Beginners" - the first TV airing of a real and spontaneous
demonstration of human anatomy. As the promotional synopsis says -
"The beauty and intricacy of the human body is laid bare in a
sophisticated modern version of a tradition that extends back to the
middle ages and beyond".

"In this DVD you see dissections of the human body and thereby gain a greater
understanding of your own body - or that of your client or patient. Your
anatomical guides are Dr Gunther von Hagens
who dissects the bodies, and pathologist Professor John Lee who
explains how the human body functions in health and in disease."

The DVD is incredible value for money - a rare combination of
academic soap opera (echoes of "The League of Gentlemen" - "This is
a local shop, for local people!"), horror movie and educational
documentary,
http://www.Amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0007SME7M/sunflowerheal-21
However, you can also view it via Amazon UK's free rental offer:
http://www.lovehealth.co.uk/DVDrentalUKoffer.htm

The Valley of Dry Bones - On another Level!
------------------------------------------
"We... have become much like the people of Israel in Ezekiel's day.
We have allowed everything around us to take control of our lives
and we have allowed the world and all its glamour to suck the life
right out of us. We have become nothing more than dry bones."

"Many of our social ills today are facilitated by our lack of action
and our indifference to the world around us. While we are not to be
of the world, we are still in the world and it is our duty to reach
out to those around us and to make positive changes to their lives.
We are still commanded to be the light of the world!"

"We have become so self absorbed and so rushed by the world around
us that we no longer notice the plight of those around us. We ignore
the homeless man or woman on the street corner, or the pregnant
woman struggling with her bag of groceries. We have far more
important things to do than to help out our fellow men and women..."
[Edited extract from http://www.taac.us/wordpress/archives/517]


Death - The last Taboo
----------------------
The emergence of human corpses onto our TV screen signals the
breaching of our last taboo. Is this a bad thing?

Buddhists have for centuries practised a powerful meditation
called "The Contemplation of the Ten Stages of Decomposition
(or "Foulness") of a Corpse". They believe that it is only after
contemplating the horror of our own mortality that we can fully
embrace life in the "Here and Now"!

Roll the DVD!

Who Dares - Wins!