Posts tagged 1700s

kidsneedscience:

Born in 1707, Carl Linnaeus would rise to such a level of greatness that the philosopher Jean-Jaques Rousseau once said “Tell him I know no greater man on earth,” and was heralded by many of his contemporaries and apostles as Princeps botanicorum - the Prince of Botany. This praise was not without merit: he’s the reason we name almost everything in biology the way that we do. Prior to Linnaeus, the science dealing with naming, organizing, and classifying organisms, called taxonomy, was a disorganized and confusingly complex mess. The word taxonomy is derived from an irregularly-conjugated Ancient Greek word taxis which means arrangement, and the Ancient Greek suffix -nomia, derived from the Ancient Greek word nemein, meaning to manage.

Linnaeus had a passion for botany, and while he went to school to study medicine, his long-term goals always included learning about plants. At 25, he won a grant to travel to Lapland and document the local flora and fauna. While there, he began to classify the flowers he found with what we now know as the bionomial classification system - from the Latin bi, meaning two, and nominus meaning name. Prior to this system, species were given long, many-worded descriptive names, and there were several competing outlines for classifying plants and animals into groups, none of which were particularly accurate or helpful to a scientist not intimate with the specific branch of biology the outline was designed for. 

The binomial classification system uses two identifiers for a species - the “generic name” (also known as its genus), and the “specific” name (also known as the species). Linnaeus introduced this system in his book Systema naturae, first published in 1735. Even though the first edition was basic and just twelve pages long, it introduced to the scientific community a system that was simple, understandable, easy to remember, and easy to add new species to. Throughout his life, Linnaeus and his apostles continued work on Systema naturae, and by its 10th Edition in 1758, it classified over 4400 species of animals, and 7700 species of plants.

Portrait of Carl Linneaus by Hendrik Hollander, 1853, in the public domain.

Image from Haeckel’s Tree of Life in the public domain.

Guest post for Kids Need Science.

Taxonomy and Nomenclature 101

Goliath birdeater - Theraphosa blondi The Goliath birdeater spider is the second-largest spider in the world, in terms of legspan, and probably the largest in terms of mass. Despite its name, it doesn’t often eat birds in the wild, if only because the webs of this species are upon the ground. Reptiles (including venomous snakes), amphibians, and small rodents are caught far more often. These spiders are tarantulas, and have the skin-piercing fangs and urticating hairs of that genus. However - unlike most other tarantulas - the males of this species don’t have “tibial spurs” (used to keep females in place while mating). Their pedipalps are sharpened at the end in a “palpal bulb”, which is used to hold both the females and prey. Vivarium Naturae, or: the Naturalist’s Miscellany. George Shaw, 1790.

Goliath birdeater - Theraphosa blondi

The Goliath birdeater spider is the second-largest spider in the world, in terms of legspan, and probably the largest in terms of mass. Despite its name, it doesn’t often eat birds in the wild, if only because the webs of this species are upon the ground. Reptiles (including venomous snakes), amphibians, and small rodents are caught far more often.

These spiders are tarantulas, and have the skin-piercing fangs and urticating hairs of that genus.

However - unlike most other tarantulas - the males of this species don’t have “tibial spurs” (used to keep females in place while mating). Their pedipalps are sharpened at the end in a “palpal bulb”, which is used to hold both the females and prey.

Vivarium Naturae, or: the Naturalist’s Miscellany. George Shaw, 1790.

Child’s arm holding the eye’s vascular tissue

Specimen prepared by Bernardus Siegfried Albinus, ca. 1730. Currently on display in the Anatomy Hall of Museum Boerhaave, in the city of Leiden, The Netherlands.

Photograph by [Astropop], 2009, All Rights Reserved.

Submitted by Thee Naluark.

Artistic interpretations of sea life, birds, and reptiles

Between the beginning of the Scientific Revolution (which began in the mid-17th century) and the early-19th Century movement towards dry and clinical accuracy in both anatomical and zoological illustrations, there was a period of extravagance, showiness, and artistic expression in the sciences.

Instead of being solely geared towards other scientists, the artists sought to entice the general public and show off their vast collections, in many of their works. This can be seen in the medical illustrations of Frederick Ruysch, as well as here, in the zoological illustrations of Albertus Seba.

[h/t to Biodiversity Library’s blog for tipping me off to the interesting connections between two collections already in my archive]

Locupletissimi rerum naturalium thesauri accurata descripto, tome II & III. Albetus Seba, 1735.

“Little did Ai know, his portrait would inspire thousands of awkward high school portraits, more than 250 years later.” Image: Maned three-toed sloth - Bradypus torquatus. From Verzameling van uitlandsche en zeldzamme vogelen, benevens eenige vreemde dieren en plantgewassen. George Edwards and M. Catesby, 1781.

“Little did Ai know, his portrait would inspire thousands of awkward high school portraits, more than 250 years later.”

image

Image: Maned three-toed sloth - Bradypus torquatus.
From Verzameling van uitlandsche en zeldzamme vogelen, benevens eenige vreemde dieren en plantgewassen. George Edwards and M. Catesby, 1781.

The Giant Amazonian Centipede - Scolopendra gigantea Like the other members of Scolopendra, the giant Amazonian centipede is predatory and venomous. The first body segment has a pair of modified legs terminating in sharp claws, called forcipules (you know, like forceps), which it uses to pull its prey to its mouthparts, where it injects its venom. Though typically non-fatal to humans (excepting those allergic to the venom toxins), giant centipede bites are incredibly painful and can cause symptoms for days on end. This venom is what allows them to hunt prey as large as small mammals and birds, without itself being eaten. I have no idea what people are thinking when they buy one of these, but they’re apparently a big thing in exotic insect circles. They’re known to be jumpy, nervous, and very aggressive both in the wild and in captivity, and can often escape enclosures that aren’t well-sealed. I mean, come on. Even tarantulas can be docile and friendly. And mantises are fun to watch and not venomous! And there are so many other options! Why a giant centipede? Vivarium Naturae; or, the Naturalist’s Miscellany. George Shaw, 1790.

The Giant Amazonian Centipede - Scolopendra gigantea

Like the other members of Scolopendra, the giant Amazonian centipede is predatory and venomous. The first body segment has a pair of modified legs terminating in sharp claws, called forcipules (you know, like forceps), which it uses to pull its prey to its mouthparts, where it injects its venom.

Though typically non-fatal to humans (excepting those allergic to the venom toxins), giant centipede bites are incredibly painful and can cause symptoms for days on end. This venom is what allows them to hunt prey as large as small mammals and birds, without itself being eaten.

I have no idea what people are thinking when they buy one of these, but they’re apparently a big thing in exotic insect circles. They’re known to be jumpy, nervous, and very aggressive both in the wild and in captivity, and can often escape enclosures that aren’t well-sealed. I mean, come on. Even tarantulas can be docile and friendly. And mantises are fun to watch and not venomous! And there are so many other options! Why a giant centipede?

Vivarium Naturae; or, the Naturalist’s Miscellany. George Shaw, 1790.

Reproduction of the Edible Snail (Helix pomatia) Like most gastropods, Helix pomatia is hermaphroditic - that is, they have the reproductive organs of both genders. They still engage in sexual reproduction, and the mating rituals of some land snails are truly bizarre. When two sexually mature snails meet and determine that they’re going to mate, “love darts” will often be exchanged in a pre-mating ritual. However, these darts are not part of the insemination process; mating takes place after this exchange. Darts don’t always hit their target (the other snail), and snails don’t always go into this “battle” with a dart prepared - snails who have never mated previously cannot create a dart, as the dart sac is not yet primed to lay down the chitin that the darts are comprised of. However, a snail who manages to hit their mate with a dart prior to mating have been shown to cause their mate to create a significantly higher number of eggs, and of those eggs, a higher percentage successfully hatch. The Naturalists Miscellany. George Shaw, 1790.

Reproduction of the Edible Snail (Helix pomatia)

Like most gastropods, Helix pomatia is hermaphroditic - that is, they have the reproductive organs of both genders. They still engage in sexual reproduction, and the mating rituals of some land snails are truly bizarre.

When two sexually mature snails meet and determine that they’re going to mate, “love darts” will often be exchanged in a pre-mating ritual. However, these darts are not part of the insemination process; mating takes place after this exchange.

Darts don’t always hit their target (the other snail), and snails don’t always go into this “battle” with a dart prepared - snails who have never mated previously cannot create a dart, as the dart sac is not yet primed to lay down the chitin that the darts are comprised of. However, a snail who manages to hit their mate with a dart prior to mating have been shown to cause their mate to create a significantly higher number of eggs, and of those eggs, a higher percentage successfully hatch.

The Naturalists Miscellany. George Shaw, 1790.

biomedicalephemera: The Naming of Beasts: Adam, in the Garden of Eden An angel holds a scroll with the title of the book and points toward Heaven, as Adam points toward a Hercules beetle (Dynastes hercules). An Atlas moth (Attacus atlas) rests on the side of the rock Adam sits upon, and a Pipevine swallowtail butterfly (Battus philenor) and white dragonfly (subfamily Anisoptera) are depicted aside the scene. Entomologie, ou, Histoire Naturelle des Insects: Coleoptera. Antoine Guilame Olivier, 1808. [Fourth edition, original publication date 1798.]

biomedicalephemera:

The Naming of Beasts: Adam, in the Garden of Eden

An angel holds a scroll with the title of the book and points toward Heaven, as Adam points toward a Hercules beetle (Dynastes hercules).

An Atlas moth (Attacus atlas) rests on the side of the rock Adam sits upon, and a Pipevine swallowtail butterfly (Battus philenor) and white dragonfly (subfamily Anisoptera) are depicted aside the scene.

Entomologie, ou, Histoire Naturelle des Insects: Coleoptera. Antoine Guilame Olivier, 1808. [Fourth edition, original publication date 1798.]

The Naming of Beasts: Adam, in the Garden of Eden An angel holds a scroll with the title of the book and points toward Heaven, as Adam points toward a Hercules beetle (Dynastes hercules). An Atlas moth (Attacus atlas) rests on the side of the rock Adam sits upon, and a Pipevine swallowtail butterfly (Battus philenor) and white dragonfly (subfamily Anisoptera) are depicted aside the scene. Entomologie, ou, Histoire Naturelle des Insects: Coleoptera. Antoine Guilame Olivier, 1808. [Fourth edition, original publication date 1798.]

The Naming of Beasts: Adam, in the Garden of Eden

An angel holds a scroll with the title of the book and points toward Heaven, as Adam points toward a Hercules beetle (Dynastes hercules).

An Atlas moth (Attacus atlas) rests on the side of the rock Adam sits upon, and a Pipevine swallowtail butterfly (Battus philenor) and white dragonfly (subfamily Anisoptera) are depicted aside the scene.

Entomologie, ou, Histoire Naturelle des Insects: Coleoptera. Antoine Guilame Olivier, 1808. [Fourth edition, original publication date 1798.]

Apropos for the season ~ this illustration is indeed by Frederick Ruysch, from a set of 1744 engravings.  biomedicalephemera: Arrangement of fetal skeletons, bladder calculi, blood vessels, and a songbird. Artist/Anatomist not noted, but the artistic style is that of Frederik Ruysch and he was one of the more notable at the height of the artistic Renaissance of anatomy. He arranged specimens in artistic poses and displayed them in glass-cased displays that fascinated and dazzled the public. Preserved specimens had only been developed and used since the late 1600s. While the novelty of seeing a preserved animal or human on display caught the public’s attention, the artistic stylings of the anatomists and naturalists of the day is what kept it.

Apropos for the season ~ this illustration is indeed by Frederick Ruysch, from a set of 1744 engravings. 

biomedicalephemera:

Arrangement of fetal skeletons, bladder calculi, blood vessels, and a songbird.

Artist/Anatomist not noted, but the artistic style is that of Frederik Ruysch and he was one of the more notable at the height of the artistic Renaissance of anatomy. He arranged specimens in artistic poses and displayed them in glass-cased displays that fascinated and dazzled the public. Preserved specimens had only been developed and used since the late 1600s. While the novelty of seeing a preserved animal or human on display caught the public’s attention, the artistic stylings of the anatomists and naturalists of the day is what kept it.

Anatomical Teaching Models

It’s believed that anatomical models have been used for teaching purposes (as opposed to ritualistic or religious purposes) since some point between 100 BCE - 300 CE, since dissection of the dead was a taboo and crime in the Late Greek and  Roman empire, and paper or vellum for illustration was much more fragile than, say, carved wooden figures.

However, most of our evidence for anatomical models comes from the late Medieval era and later, when materials such as ivory and sealed papier-mâché were used for many anatomical carvings. Later, especially in the 18th and 19th centuries, wax sculptures were common in medical schools, as much finer detail was attainable with such a pliable substance.

Today, most models used for teaching both lay persons and students are made from thermoplastics and texturing agents, and can range from highly detailed micro-premature babies, to fully-removable models of life-sized animals with every layer of tissue and organs, to huge versions of virions not normally visible except under an electron microscope. Given that the majority of students show greatly increased memory of a subject when able to physically manipulate a representation of it, the use of anatomical teaching models is here to stay.

For more on anatomical models and tons more on the history of medicine, visit the Science Museum: Brought to Life!

Images:

Top: Anatomical structure of reclining woman in early pregnancy. Florence, Italy, ca. 1770.
Center left: Wax model of the human brain, with skin, skull, and meninges removed. Intended for medical students. Western Europe, ca. 1700-1900. Date uncertain.
Center right: Papier-mache model of acupuncture meridians. Japan, ca. 1601-1700.
Bottom left: Sculpture of male black infant, 22-23 weeks development. Created for exhibit on how micro-preemies are kept alive in the modern era. England, 1998.
Bottom right: Model of an adenovirus, magnified 3,000,000x, from electron microscope images. London, England, 1985.

sciencemuseum.org.uk

Ovis aries - Old Norway Sheep (anomalous, three-horned) Unlike four-horned sheep (such as the Icelandic and Navajo Churro breeds), three-horned sheep legitimately have more than two horns - in four-horned sheep, the extra pair comes from an offshoot of the first horn buds. As a result, the extra horn locations can deform the skull shape of sheep who develop them, resulting in…”special” sheep. Thankfully for farmers, most of the time, the extra horn and semi-deformed skull/face has no influence upon brain development, and the sheep are no more dull than average. Die Säugthiere in Abbildungen nach der Natur. Johann Schreber, 1774.

Ovis aries - Old Norway Sheep (anomalous, three-horned)

Unlike four-horned sheep (such as the Icelandic and Navajo Churro breeds), three-horned sheep legitimately have more than two horns - in four-horned sheep, the extra pair comes from an offshoot of the first horn buds. As a result, the extra horn locations can deform the skull shape of sheep who develop them, resulting in…”special” sheep.

Thankfully for farmers, most of the time, the extra horn and semi-deformed skull/face has no influence upon brain development, and the sheep are no more dull than average.

Die Säugthiere in Abbildungen nach der Natur. Johann Schreber, 1774.

openlibrary.org

Rabbit Fish, or Rat Fish (Chimaera monstrosa) Not to be confused with the Rabbitfish, a group of brightly-colored reef-dwellers. The rat fish is one of the few fish of the order Chimaeriformes that you can see in person. Though a member of an order that dwells up to 2600 meters (8500 feet) below the surface of the ocean, they are capable of living at surface-level relatively easily, and as such are one of the only Chimaeridae (also known as ghost sharks or ghost fish) that are kept in public aquariums. Chimaera are the closest living relatives to sharks, though they diverged over 400 million years ago. We have abundant fossil evidence of their evolution to their current forms, and they’re one of the most-studied orders of cartilaginous fish. These fish are the only vertebrates to retain vestigial evidence of a third set of limbs. Illustrations de Ichtyologie ou histoire naturelle générale et particulière des Poissons. Marcus Elieser Bloch et al., 1795.

Rabbit Fish, or Rat Fish (Chimaera monstrosa)

Not to be confused with the Rabbitfish, a group of brightly-colored reef-dwellers.

The rat fish is one of the few fish of the order Chimaeriformes that you can see in person. Though a member of an order that dwells up to 2600 meters (8500 feet) below the surface of the ocean, they are capable of living at surface-level relatively easily, and as such are one of the only Chimaeridae (also known as ghost sharks or ghost fish) that are kept in public aquariums.

Chimaera are the closest living relatives to sharks, though they diverged over 400 million years ago. We have abundant fossil evidence of their evolution to their current forms, and they’re one of the most-studied orders of cartilaginous fish. These fish are the only vertebrates to retain vestigial evidence of a third set of limbs.

Illustrations de Ichtyologie ou histoire naturelle générale et particulière des Poissons. Marcus Elieser Bloch et al., 1795.

scientificillustration: Summer dance of the May-flies: Gilbert White, 1771.

scientificillustration:

Summer dance of the May-flies: Gilbert White, 1771.

1737 case of the miller, Samuel Wood: Arm and scapula of the patient were torn off due to forearm becoming caught in a rope attached to the cogs of a mill. The veins and arteries were stretched taught when the amputation occurred, bleeding very little. The nerves were drawn clean out of the arm and snapped clean at the scapular base. The surgeon who made the initial visit tied off the blood vessels, and superficially dressed the wound. This dressing was kept in place for several months, and the patient suffered no severe symptoms. William Cheselden introduced a method of amputation dressing (for both accidental and intentional amputation) that consisted of constant loose bandaging, ensuring that the wound was covered completely, but not cut off from air, or artificially sewn shut. Prior to the innovations in amputation medicine brought about by the Napoleonic and American Civil Wars, Cheselden’s method was by far the most successful in treating amputation wounds. Anatomy of the Humane Body: Edition VI. William Cheselden, 1741.

1737 case of the miller, Samuel Wood:

Arm and scapula of the patient were torn off due to forearm becoming caught in a rope attached to the cogs of a mill. The veins and arteries were stretched taught when the amputation occurred, bleeding very little. The nerves were drawn clean out of the arm and snapped clean at the scapular base. The surgeon who made the initial visit tied off the blood vessels, and superficially dressed the wound. This dressing was kept in place for several months, and the patient suffered no severe symptoms.

William Cheselden introduced a method of amputation dressing (for both accidental and intentional amputation) that consisted of constant loose bandaging, ensuring that the wound was covered completely, but not cut off from air, or artificially sewn shut. Prior to the innovations in amputation medicine brought about by the Napoleonic and American Civil Wars, Cheselden’s method was by far the most successful in treating amputation wounds.

Anatomy of the Humane Body: Edition VI. William Cheselden, 1741.