Prometheus and the liver through art and medicine [electronic resource].

Frontmatter -- CONTENTS -- INTRODUCTION -- 1 THE PROMETHEUS MYTH -- 2 THE DEPICTION OF PROMETHEUS IN CLASSICAL ANTIQUITY -- 3 THE LIVER ACCORDING TO THE ANCIENT GREEKS AND THE ETRUSCANS -- 4 THE HARUSPEX AND HEPATOSCOPY -- 5 PROMETHEUS IN THE MIDDLE AGES -- 6 THE LIVER IN THE THE MIDDLE AGES, ACCORDING TO GALEN -- 7 PROMETHEUS IN THE RENAISSANCE -- 8 THE LIVER IN THE RENAISSANCE AS DESCRIBED BY REISCH, VESALIUS, AND DA VINCI -- 9 PROMETHEUS IN THE BAROQUE -- THE WOUNDS OF CHRIST AND PROMETHEUS -- TWO OF A KIND? -- 10 THE LIVER IN THE BAROQUE, ACCORDING TO VAN DEN SPIEGEL, GLISSON, AND BIDLOO -- 11 PROMETHEUS AND MODERNITY -- MARY SHELLEY'S FRANKENSTEIN; OR, THE MODERN PROMETHEUS -- 12 THE LIVER IN THE ENLIGHTENMENT -- 13 THE TWENTIETH-CENTURY PROMETHEUS -- 14 LIVER SURGERY AND LIVER REGENERATION -- REGENERATION OF THE HYDRA POLYP -- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS -- ON THE AUTHORS -- BIBLIOGRAPHY -- INDEX

Prometheus was punished by the supreme god Zeus for giving to mankind the Olympic fire with which they learned to think and feel. He was chained to a cliff in the Caucasus, where, to make matters worse, he was visited daily by an eagle who ate part of his liver. At night, however, his liver grew back. We now know that the liver can regenerate, but were the ancient Greeks aware of this quality? The myth of Prometheus has been a source of inspiration for many visual artists over the centuries. In this book, the medical history of the liver is traced through the ages through an examination of historical texts on the organ's functions and properties, parallel to the art movements in which the fascinating iconography of Prometheus is reviewed. The book offers a surprising interplay of art and medicine, placing emphasis on the unique morphology of the liver.

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