ICML 2009: Meeting Room 2 Session 13

Theme: Medical Humanities

Time: 14.15-15.30
Date: Wednesday 2nd September 2009
Chair: Dr Katriona Munthe

The Art of Medicine: visualising medicine from Vesalius to MRI
Mr Bruce E Madge, The London Upright MRI Centre, United Kingdom

Bruce Madge has been a health librarian for over 30 years. In 2004 he got his Honorary FCLIP for work done in the area of health informatics. He was a founder member of the UK Council for Health Informatics Professions (UKCHIP) and is a strong advocate of regulation of the profession. Currently he is working as Director of Marketing for the London Upright MRI Centre, a small medical imaging centre in London, which just goes to prove that librarians can be flexible in the jobs that they can perform. Before coming to his current post he was a Sub-Librarian at the British Medical Association Library. Prior to that he worked for 2 years as Assistant Director for Patient Information at the newly established National Patient Safety Agency. Here he set up and ran an information service for patients and a small library for staff. His first senior management role in 1995 came when he headed up the Healthcare Information Service at the British Library. Here he managed the production of the popular Allied and Complementary Medicine database (AMED) as well as the UK indexing input for Medline amongst other medical indexing work. Prior to that he spent several years working in various positions within the NHS which included District Librarian at Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust and Librarian at the National Poisons Unit. His international experience includes being the Chair of the Health and Biosciences Libraries Committee of IFLA, a member of the European Association of Health Information and Libraries Council and a past Chair of the International Co-operation Section of the US Medical Library Association. He is also a Trustee of Partnerships in Health Information. In 2000, he wrote a book entitled "Harnessing Health Libraries" for Radcliffe Medical Press and has a number of articles to his name.

Abstract:
Medicine over the last 60 years has become increasingly scientific to the detriment of the artistic qualities which had been considered part of the medical profession from Hippocratic times until quite recently. Today more emphasis is being placed on the teaching of medical humanities to students. To support this libraries are developing specialised collections of relevant art and literature. One such outstanding example is the “Lux Humana” collection at the National Library of Health Sciences at the University of Helsinki. However the use of the visual arts in teaching anatomy has never been questioned and is essential for students and indeed patients to grasp the complexities of the human body. There are many fine examples of the medical illustrators’ art and this artistic quality has continued into the era of multimedia where products such as A.D.A.M. have become one of the standard tools for teaching anatomy. In radiology particularly a sense of the visual is key and unsuccessful attempts have been made to replace this sense with computerized image analysis. Some attempts have also been made to use visual images to clarify patient information and as a navigation tool of the body. However do medical students possess or even need to possess an appreciation of art and do they see any difference between radiological images and the medical illustrators art? This paper will attempt to address the question and look at some of the examples of classic anatomy texts and how radiological images can be used as works of art.

Why Medical Biography?
Dr Christopher Gardner Thorpe, Editor, Journal of Medical Biography, United Kingdom.

Christopher Gardner-Thorpe lectures widely in medical history and edits the Journal of Medical Biography. He is a consultant neurologist with a busy clinical and medicolegal practice.

Abstract:
Lives are important and interesting to us all. We look at the libraries of our friends and this vision leads us to understand their personality and interests, and how these developed in relation to the challenges of life. The challenge of life itself, and the challenge of death, infect our minds with a pathos that is analysed here.

Using Postcards to Document the History of Veterinary Medicine
C Trenton Boyd, University of Missouri, United States

Abstract:
Archivists have known for many years the importance of photographs for providing a visual image of events of past years. However, it has only been in recent years that archivists, librarians, historic preservationists and sociologists have realized the important role postcards play in documenting the past.

Objectives: This presentation will illustrate how postcards have helped record the world's history of veterinary medicine from the turn of the century to the present.

Methods: Show a select number of postcards from around the world that record different aspects of veterinary medicine.

Results: Postcards document many aspects of veterinary medicine including: procedures, role of the veterinarian in the military, disease outbreaks, veterinary instruments, patent medicines, association conferences, early schools, etc.

Conclusions: Postcards are an unrecognized primary source for documenting many aspects of veterinary medicine through history.