The oldest human anatomical document still alive today

The 2,200-year-old document found in an ancient Chinese tomb is the oldest surviving book on human anatomy.

Human anatomy documents were found in the tomb of Lady Xinzhi who lived during the Han Dynasty of China. Photo: Ancient Origins. A research team at Bangor University (UK) and Howard University (USA) conducted an analysis of an ancient document discovered in 1973, when archaeologists unearthed the tomb of Madame Tan Truyen. [một quý tộc sống trong thời Hán] at the Ma Vuong Doi burial ground in Hunan province, China. They concluded that this is the oldest manuscript on human anatomy dating from the 3rd century BC (BC) to the 2nd century BC, about 2,200 years ago. The study results were published in The Anatomical Record in September 2020. The document is written on silk in the dialect of the Han Dynasty which is difficult to understand. This makes it difficult for experts to interpret the content. “People discovered the document more than 40 years ago, but no one knew it was an anatomy book,” the team said. “We spent a lot of time learning ancient languages ​​to read and understand the characters written on silk, and also performed anatomical investigations to review the body structure to which the text refers.” The document discovered at Ma Vuong Doi is the precursor to the famous acupuncture text Hoang Di Kinh. Although the text does not explicitly mention acupuncture points, it does describe the meridians and the working pathways of the whole body qi and blood. These are basic concepts that are still widely used in traditional Chinese medicine today. The scientists compared the physical features detailed in the brochure with modern observations of the human body. For example, the literature describes a meridian that begins at the center of the palm, travels along the tendon of the forearm to the armpit, and connects to the heart. The team believes that this description actually refers to the passage of the ulnar artery, the main blood vessel of the forearm. Another example is a brochure describing a foot meridian. It starts at the big toe and runs along the muscles that connect the ankles, knees, thighs, and abdomen. This meridian actually describes the path of the long saphenous vein, the tube that carries blood from the legs back to the heart. The research team said that the document was created with the purpose of providing a concise description of the human body structure for practitioners of medicine in ancient China. “This work lays the foundation for the practice of acupuncture for the next two millennia,” said the team. “It challenges the popular belief that acupuncture is not based on anatomical science, by showing that the first physicians to write about acupuncture knew quite well the anatomy of the body. people”. Although evidence-based studies have confirmed acupuncture’s ability to manage chronic pain, in Western medicine it is still doubtful that acupuncture is an effective method to treat many patients. other diseases. The ancient Chinese document is not simply a mystical work based on unfounded ideas, but a legitimate attempt to describe the structure of the human body from the perspective of a person living in the background. ancient oriental culture. “We approach the ancient manuscript from a slightly different angle from modern Western medicine’s view of the individual system of arteries, veins and nerves in the body. We looked at the body from the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, based on the philosophical concept of the opposites and complements of yin and yang,” said Vivien Shaw, a member of the research team at the School of Science School of Medicine at Bangor University, said. In ancient China, the development of anatomy was generally considered unrelated to dissection. This is due to Confucian ideas of filial piety, which make people afraid to touch the bodies of the deceased, especially the remains of ancestors. On the other hand, this thought had far-reaching influence during the Han Dynasty. Therefore, many people believe that any description of the human body in contemporary Chinese medical texts is not based on an internal examination of the human body. However, the team says the bodies of law-breakers are not always respected. It is likely that ancient Chinese medical researchers dissected the bodies of executed prisoners to help them understand the structure of the human body. For example, in the content of the Han Shu book series, which mainly tells the history of the Han Dynasty, the dissection of the criminal Vuong Ton Thanh in 16 AD is also recorded. “We were able to show significant similarity between the descriptions in the ancient literature and the human anatomical structure. Interestingly, some of these structures can only be seen during dissection. This is evidence that the Chinese have begun dissecting bodies for medical research,” said Izzy Winder, a member of the research team. To date, it is believed that the oldest human anatomy atlas originates from ancient Greece. Their authors are famous physicians such as Herophilus (335 – 280 BC) and Erasistratus (304 – 250 BC). However, these works are now lost and they are known only through the accounts of other ancient authors. “Therefore, the ancient Chinese manuscript is the oldest surviving work on human anatomy. Its content is built not on the paranormal but on empirical investigations,” the team wrote. In addition, the research results also show the outstanding achievements of the ancient Chinese in terms of science and medicine. “The Han Dynasty was a period of constant learning and innovation in the arts and sciences. So it’s not surprising that this kind of anatomical science was born in this context,” said Vivien Shaw, a member of the research team.