Gross Anatomy is not Gross

139 years ago, Thomas Eakins painted Dr. Samuel Gross, his colleagues and students performing surgery on a live patient with what I suspect is a cowering family member shielding her eyes from the carnage. Dressed in his daily attire, the depiction of his bloody hand wielding a scalpel and his colleagues retracting and cutting on this leg is sobering. Infectious disease experts shudder in horror at the scene.

I'd like to think that my course in "Gross Anatomy" was named for the man, the surgeon and the teacher who had the audacity to perform such an event absent gown, gloves, mask or other protective equipment. But many of my colleague argue that it's simply a reference to gross or macro anatomy on a large scale as opposed to micro (small) anatomy. Either way, I'm proud to be in the line somewhat of such men who dared to do cutting edge things, albeit without gloves.

We really have come a long way in surgery and the study of Anatomy in the past 140 years. And we don't let family watch surgery from a kneeling position in the corner of the room either. Although, perhaps we should.