No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.
Edinburgh, the Scottish pioneers of anatomy and their lasting influence in South Africa
Abstract
The history of the origin of anatomy education in South Africa is the history of an arduous journey through time. The lasting influence of Edinburgh came in the form of Robert Black Thomson. He was a student and assistant of Sir William Turner who gave rise to the first chair of anatomy and the establishment of a department at the South African College, known today as University of Cape Town. Thomson was later succeeded by Matthew Drennan, a keen anthropologist, who was revered by his students. This Scottish link prevailed over time with the appointment of Edward Philip Stibbe as the chair of anatomy at the South African School of Mines and Technology, which later became the University of the Witwatersrand. Stibbe's successor, Raymond Arthur Dart, a graduate of the University of Sydney, was trained in an anatomy department sculpted on that of Edinburgh by Professor James Thomas Wilson. Wilson's influence at the University of Sydney can be traced back to Edinburgh and William Turner through Thomas Anderson Stuart. Both Dart and Robert Broom, another Scot, were considered as Africa's wild men by the late Professor Tobias. Here, the authors explore the Scottish link and origins of anatomy pedagogy in South Africa.
... Throughout history medical education has had a strong anatomical component (Papa and Vaccarezza, 2013). The teaching of anatomy in South Africa began in 1911 at the South African College, later called the University of Cape Town (Correia et al., 2013). In 1919, an anatomy department was started at the South African School of Mines and Technology that later became the University of the Witwatersrand (WITS) (Correia et al., 2013). ...
... The teaching of anatomy in South Africa began in 1911 at the South African College, later called the University of Cape Town (Correia et al., 2013). In 1919, an anatomy department was started at the South African School of Mines and Technology that later became the University of the Witwatersrand (WITS) (Correia et al., 2013). The Department of Physiotherapy at WITS has the oldest physiotherapy (PT) program in South Africa: a three year diploma in PT was offered from 1938 but in 1943 the four-year degree was established under the leadership of Raymond Dart, an anatomy professor and Dean of the Medical School at WITS from 1925 to 1943 (Tobias, 2007;Myezwa et al., 2013). ...
Eight faculties in South Africa offer undergraduate physiotherapy training with gross anatomy included as a basis for clinical practice. Little information exists about anatomy education for this student body. A 42-question peer-reviewed survey was distributed to physiotherapy gross anatomy course coordinators in all the eight faculties. Seven coordinators from six (75%) of the universities responded. Two respondents' data from the same university were pooled. Collected data show that staff qualifications and experience varied widely and high to average staff to student ratios exist between faculties. Direct anatomy teaching duration was 12.3 (SD ±5.2) weeks per semester. Total number of weeks in courses per faculty was 27.6 (SD ±5.7) varying widely between institutions. Calculable direct contact anatomy hours ranged between 100 and 308 with a mean of 207.6 (SD ±78.1). Direct contact hours in lectures averaged 3.9 (SD ±1.6) per week and the average direct contact hours in practical sessions were 3.5 (SD ±1.8) per week. Dissection, prosection, plastinated models, surface anatomy, and e-learning were available across faculties. Ancillary modalities such as vertical integration and inter-professional learning were in use. All faculties had multiple-choice questions, spot tests, and short examination questions. Half had viva-voce examinations and one had additional long questions assessment. Students evaluated teaching performance in five faculties. Four faculties were reviewing anatomy programs to consider implementing changes to anatomy curriculum or pedagogy. The findings highlighted disparity between programs and also identified the need for specific guidelines to develop a unified South African gross anatomy course for physiotherapy students. Anat Sci Educ. © 2018 American Association of Anatomists.
... 19 Many of these were Turner's students who became anatomists in America, Australia and the rest of the United Kingdom. 4,17,25 He was not only an instructor of students but future professors of Anatomy including Alexander Primrose in Belfast, to name a few. 26 Recent evidence points towards his far-reaching educational influence through Turner's students, both directly and indirectly, in South Africa and Australia. ...
... 26 Recent evidence points towards his far-reaching educational influence through Turner's students, both directly and indirectly, in South Africa and Australia. 4,25 In South Africa, it was through Robert Black Thomson (1880Thomson ( -1937 24 who became the first professor of anatomy in 1911 and established the first department of anatomy at the South African College, known today as the University of Cape Town. 24 Thomson graduated from Edinburgh in 1905 and was a student of Turner and Cunningham. ...
Sir William Turner, a Lancastrian, was renowned as a scientist, anatomist and a great reformer of medical education. His students became anatomists at various international institutions, which consequently shaped the future of anatomy as a subject matter both in the United Kingdom and in South Africa. Although Turner's accomplishments have been documented, little is known about the details that determined his career path and the individuals that shaped his future. Here the authors aim to highlight some aspects of Turner's academic achievements and his personal life as well as how he crossed paths with other great minds of the Victorian era including Richard Owen, Charles Darwin, James Paget and Joseph Lister.
© The Author(s) 2015 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.
... The anatomists no longer ruled at the pinnacle of medical education, as was the case prior to this, and previously the reputation of any school largely depended on that of the anatomy professor (Lawrence, 2006). The expansion of the British Empire scattered Edinburgh's anatomists across the globe and two, Robert Black Thomson and Maxie Drennan, set foot on African soil at the start of the 20th-century (Macalister, 1916, Correia et al. 2013. They were both students of Sir William Turner (1832-1916) and another of Turner's students, Sir Anderson Stuart, later indirectly influenced medical education in South Africa through Raymond Arthur Dart. ...
... Stuart was later, in 1887, joined by one of Turner's anatomy demonstrators namely, James Thomas Wilson (Smith, 2006). Dart became known as one of Wilson's prodigies and moved to South Africa and succeeded Edward Philip Stibbe as head of anatomy at the University of the Witwatersrand (Keith, 1950;Tobias, 1990, Correia et al, 2013. The sixth South African medical school open its doors on 6 June 1969 at the University of the Free State (UFS), Bloemfontein, South Africa (Retief, 1974). ...
The Department of Anatomy at the University of the Free State (UFS) was established in 1970
and the first head of department, Professor Mattheus Johannes Toerien, assumed duties on 1
January 1971. However, little is known about the establishment and growth of anatomy as a
department and this biomedical subject at the UFS. One individual in particular, played a pivotal
role in this and the authors here aim to capture the development of anatomy education at UFS
and the role of Professor Mattheus Johannes Toerien. Here the authors describe and provide
new insights to the early years of anatomy education, the role of Toerien and the establishment
of the Toerien-Museum of Anatomy
Human cadaveric dissection was introduced in Alexandria around 300 B.C. performed by Herophilos (335-255) for 30 or 40 years. Then it stopped, until Vesalius (1514-1564) began his work during the Renaissance in the Occident. He replaced the dominating theories of Galen (130-201), who had gained his knowledge from animal sections. In the 14th and 15th century human dissections were arranged in small makeshift rooms. Early designs of anatomical theatre were prepared by Alexander Benedictus from Padua 1497 and Carolus Stephanus from Paris 1564. The 1st temporary anatomical theatres arose in Italy in the 16th century, where the term Teatrum Anatomicum came from. In 1594 the 1st permanent anatomical theatre was opened in Padua, that became the model for many anatomical buildings. A most representative type was established in Bologna 1649, but the 1st solitary anatomical theatre originated from Paris 1694. Progress of anatomical knowledge gave birth to the foundation of anatomical institutes in some European countries during the 18th century. They arose in different architecture. Common to all of them was the separation between teaching and research facilities. The stylistic elements came from the axial type, e.g. the Senckenberg Institute in Frankfurt 1776 and the institute of Dorpat (1803-1825/27) and from the Sömmering type the institute in Greifswald (1854/55). Progress of sciences in the 19th century gave impulses for many architectural solutions, this was the German-European type and the Anglo-Saxon-American type. Technical progress of audio-visual equipment caused a new start for the restoration of the auditory to an "Spectatorium" 1872. The auditory was displaced from its central position and changed to a cinema with audio-visual equipment. This was once and for all the end of the traditional eatrum Anatomicum.
The article outlines the career of the renowned South African scientist Phillip Vallentine Tobias. While he made substantial contributions to a number of scientific disciplines, Tobias spent most of his career teaching anatomy at his alma mater, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, and saw himself primarily as an anatomist. The first part of this article presents Tobias' major contributions to science and demonstrates that his profound knowledge of anatomy was the basis of many of his groundbreaking research accomplishments. The second part of the article focuses on Tobias' career in anatomy and his significant contribution to anatomy teaching and administration, particularly in establishing and organizing the Anatomical Society of Southern Africa. The article also demonstrates how Tobias' academic career was constrained by the oppressive system of apartheid South Africa and how social engagement was an integral part of his intellectual activities. Clin. Anat. 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Anatomy departments across Africa were surveyed regarding the type of curriculum and method of delivery of their medical courses. While the response rate was low, African anatomy departments appear to be in line with the rest of the world in that many have introduced problem based learning, have hours that are within the range of western medical schools and appear to be well resourced. Human body dissection is a constant and strong aspect of the majority of the courses surveyed. The staff to student ratio appears to be relatively high in Africa, but in many of the responding African institutions, there appears to be little difficulty in attracting suitable faculty (including those who are medically qualified) to teach anatomy. Retaining this faculty, in some cases, may be difficult because of a global demand for anatomy educators.
In 1882, Thomas Anderson Stuart (1856-1920) was appointed as Foundation Professor of Physiology and Anatomy at the University of Sydney. At the time he was Assistant-Professor of Physiology in the University of Edinburgh. He initiated the building of the Sydney Medical School in Scottish Tudor Gothic style. He attracted notable figures to Sydney Medical School, such as Dr Robert Scot Skirving. The original medical school (now the Anderson Stuart Building) continues today as the pre-clinical medical school of the University of Sydney. Its stained glass windows and many busts of distinguished figures in the history of medicine are a constant reminder of the history of medicine. The building with its gothic architecture and echoes of northern Britain has given generations of Sydney medical students a powerful message, that they were part of an ancient and noble profession. The recruitment of Edinburgh academics to Sydney ended with Professor CG Lambie who retired in 1956. The 1950s were a watershed between the Edinburgh heritage and the Australian future.
Charitable Knowledge explores the interconnections between medical teaching, medical knowledge, and medical authority in eighteenth-century London. The metropolis lacked a university until the nineteenth century, so the seven major voluntary hospitals - St Bartholomew's, St Thomas's, Guy's, the Westminster, St George's, the Middlesex, and the London - were crucial sites for educating surgeons, surgeon-apothecaries, and visiting physicians. Lawrence explains how charity patients became teaching objects, and how hospitals became medical schools. She demonstrates that hospital practitioners gradually gained authority within an emerging medical community, transforming the old tripartite structure into a loosely unified group of de facto general practitioners dominated by hospital men. As hospital physicians and surgeons became the new elite, they profoundly shaped what counted as 'good' knowledge among medical men, both in the construction of clinical observations and in the proper use of science.
The Department of Zoology at the University of Stellenbosch, of which I'm proud to be an honorary member, has had a long and illustrious history. Here I celebrate the memory of its foundation professor, a man 'sacredly devoted to the pursuit of science'.
The documentation for ethnically identified Khoi and San specimens of human skeletons in museum collections is examined. It is shown that very few of these specimens can be actually verified as specifically Khoi or San, and in many cases there is evidence to show that any attempt to label the specimens as one or the other of these categories would be misleading.
Outstanding events in the history of the Medical School, University of Cape Town, include the establishment of a full faculty in 1920, the move of the teaching departments from the Gardens to Observatory in 1926/1928, the opening of the Groote Schuur Hospital in 1938, the signing of the joint agreement with the Cape Provincial Administration in 1951, and the tremendous growth and research activities since that time.
William Turner was appointed Professor of Anatomy at the University of Edinburgh in 1867, and from 1903 until his death in 1916, he was Principal and Vice‐Chancellor. He was an outstanding teacher and many of those he taught went on to occupy chairs of anatomy. He published widely on anatomical subjects and one of his interests was comparative anatomy and physiology of the placenta.
This paper takes a brief look at Turner's studies on the anatomical structure of the placenta, its comparative anatomy, his thoughts about its physiology and its place in the evolutionary process. At the time, these lectures constituted an anatomical and physiological classic.
At the time Turner prepared his lectures, which were delivered in 1875 and 1876, little was known about the gestatory process in marsupials or monotremes. These mammals have a very brief period of intrauterine gestation and placentation and mention is made of studies that have been done in recent times on this subject.
Introduction:
Anatomy teaching has perhaps the longest history of any component of formalised medical education. In this article we briefly consider the history of dissection, but also review the neglected topic of the history of the use of living anatomy.
Current debates:
The current debates about the advantages and disadvantages of cadavers, prosection versus dissection, and the use of living anatomy and radiology instead of cadavers are discussed.
The future:
Future prospects are considered, along with some of the factors that might inhibit change.
- E W Walls
- George Sir
- Sir William Humphrey
- Turner
Walls EW. Sir George Humphrey and Sir William
Turner. J Anat 1966; 100: 1-4.
In the shadow of Table Mountain: a history of the University of Cape Town Medical School
- Jh Louw
Louw JH. In the shadow of Table Mountain: a history of the
University of Cape Town Medical School, 1st ed.
Cape Town, South Africa: Struik, 1969, p.29, 66, 72, 99.
The beginning of medical education in South Africa: a reprint of four speeches
- E B Fuller
Fuller EB. The beginning of medical education in
South Africa: a reprint of four speeches. Cape Town,
South Africa: W. Thornley & Co, 1917.
Into the past: a memoir
- Pv Philip Tobias
- Tobias
Tobias PV. Philip Tobias. Into the past: a memoir.
Johannesburg, South Africa: Picador Africa and Wits
University Press, 2005, p.215.
Aids to anatomy (Pocket Anatomy). London:Bailliè re
- Ep Stibbe
Stibbe EP (ed.) Aids to anatomy (Pocket Anatomy).
London:Bailliè re, 1940.
A brief history of the Cape Town medical school
- J H Louw
Louw JH. A brief history of the Cape Town medical
school. S Afr Med J 1963; 17: 43-49.
The history of the South African College, 1829– 1918. Vols I and II, Cape Town
- W Ritchie
Ritchie W. The history of the South African College, 1829–
1918. Vols I and II, Cape Town, South Africa: Maskew
Miller, 1918.
The early college years
- M R Drennan
Drennan MR. The early college years. S Afr Med J 1963;
17: 52-53.
Practical anatomy by six teachers
- Ep Stibbe
Stibbe EP (ed.) Practical anatomy by six teachers.
London: Edward Arnold, 1932.
Padua University: the role it has played in the History of Medicine and Cardiology and its position today
- G Thiene
Thiene G. Padua University: the role it has played in the
History of Medicine and Cardiology and its position
today. Eur Heart J 2009; 30: 629-635.
The child from Taung
- P V Tobias
Tobias PV. The child from Taung. Science 1984;
November: 99-100.
- N. John Capener
- F R S Sheldon
Capener N. John Sheldon, F.R.S., and the Exeter
Medical School. Proc R Soc Med 1959; 52: 231-238.
The history of the South African College, 1829-1918. Vols I and II
- W Ritchie
Ritchie W. The history of the South African College, 1829-1918. Vols I and II, Cape Town, South Africa: Maskew
Miller, 1918.
Stibbebrief heralds of the science of anatomy in South Africa
- P V Tobias
- R B The
- E P Thomson
Tobias PV. The role of R.B. Thomson and E.P. Stibbebrief heralds of the science of anatomy in South Africa.
Part II. E.P. Stibbe. S Afr Med J 1990; 78: 426-430.