History of the Institute of Anatomy

By etavares On 31 October, 2013 News Report / Profile | 2013 Comments Off No tags

History of the Institute of Anatomy

Abstract

The author makes an historical review of the Institute of Normal Human Anatomy of the Lisbon Medical Faculty since its creation following the 1911 University Reform. He emphasizes the important role it has played in Teaching and Research in Anatomy, in the training of different generations of doctors, and how it succeeded in adapting and responding effectively to the challenges posed by modernity and progress over distinct periods. It stresses the responsibility of the legacy received from past eminent anatomists, which lecturers have expanded on over the years, continuing even today to account for significant international achievements, such as the 12th European Congress of Clinical Anatomy held in Lisbon in June 2013, the opening of the modern Anatomical Theatre Armando dos Santos Ferreira, an indispensable tool for enhancing the quality of Human Anatomy teaching in a broader location of the current University of Lisbon.

Keywords History; Anatomy; Medical Education; Portugal.

The Institute of Anatomy of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon was created by the 1911 University Reform and was based at the Building in Campo de Santana 1,2. It was founded by Professor Henrique de Vilhena (Fig.1), who had as collaborators Barbosa Sueiro and, since 1920, Victor Fontes. The official Director of the Institute of Normal Anatomy was Professor Augusto de Vasconcelos, Minister of State and President of the Council of Ministers of the Republic who was in post concurrently with the performance of his political duties3, until 2/10/1928, when the Council of the Faculty of Medicine appointed Professor Henrique de Vilhena Director of the Institute of Normal Human Anatomy. The newly created Institute took the responsibility to accommodate the legacy of eminent 19th century Portuguese anatomists, such as Professors José António Serrano4,5 and Manuel António Moreira Júnior, who combined personal commitment with sound knowledge of human anatomy. The renewed impetus that Henrique de Vilhena and his team6, set out to give required them to carry out a laborious job in terms of training and restructuring the teaching of anatomy. A private library and a museum were created and the teaching and practice of scientific research in anatomy in an organized manner were introduced. Henrique de Vilhena kept the dissection of cadavers as a teaching and research method, and made a point of supervising practical classes in a regular and industrious way, which earned him – the Master – as he was known, the respect and admiration of students7. Henrique de Vilhena was devoted to the anatomic study of human variation and conducted his research in the field of comparative anatomy8,9,10,11,12. Quality in the teaching of anatomy was always the major objective and concern of lecturers, as it was a subject area that was attracting an increasing number of candidates applying to medical school. When Henrique de Vilhena retired in 1949, Professors Victor Fontes (1949-1963) and Barbosa Sueiro (1963-1964) succeeded him as directors of the Institute, and continued the guidelines proposed by Henrique de Vilhena, developing them further. Victor Fontes was responsible for supervising the move of the Institute to the modern Santa Maria Teaching Hospital in 1954/1955. The first professors of the Institute of Anatomy of the Faculty of Medicine of Lisbon were cumulatively responsible for teaching anatomy at the Faculty of Fine Arts of Lisbon13(Fig.2) and at the Faculty of Sciences until the 1950s.

eFollowing the retirement of Barbosa Sueiro on 20 July 1964, Professor Armando dos Santos Ferreira (Fig. 3) was appointed Director of the Institute. He invited the general surgeon and anatomy first assistant José Caria Mendes to be his right hand. With Armando dos Santos Ferreira, an anatomist and urology surgeon, the cycle of clinical anatomists and modern translational research began. Armando Ferreira fostered relevant research on the major lymphatic pathways and microvasculature. He was director of the Institute of Anatomy for the longest period to date, between 1964 and 1991. He successfully overcame major challenges, including maintaining the quality of education when the number of medical students was increasing fast as a result of the need to train physicians during the colonial war. At this stage, he pioneered the implementation of teaching assisted by students 14,15 and the creation of a new anatomy teaching centre in the refurbished facilities at Campo de Santana. Armando Ferreira retired in 1991 and was succeeded, for a short period (1991-1993), by Professor José Caria Mendes, a humanist and educator dedicated to physical anthropology and the evolution of the nervous system. However, he was victim of sudden illness and died subsequently. Professor A. J. Gonçalves Ferreira became Acting Director of the Institute of Anatomy between 1993 and 1996. During this period, the Institute supported the teaching of anatomy in the Pharmacy Degree and taught the subject in the Dentistry Degree of the University of Lisbon. This went hand in hand with the growing numerus clausus16 in the number of students admitted to the medical degree. In 1996, Professor José David Ferreira was designated to carry out jointly the roles of Director of the Institute of Anatomy and of the Institute of Histology of the Faculty of Medicine of Lisbon, posts he held until 1999. José David Ferreira, a scientist and researcher in the field of morphological sciences, namely in the scientific area of histology, sought to foster the integration of the various domains of normal morphology by setting up a large Department of Morphological Sciences. Under his supervision, the Institute of Anatomy was modernized. Following the retirement of José David Ferreira in 1999, the anatomist and neurosurgeon Professor A. J. Gonçalves Ferreira was appointed Director of the Institute. He continued to centre the Institute’s activity on the development of translational research as a synonym of modernity: in our School, we should strive to become a reference as anatomists in our own specialties13,17.

The 21st century has brought the challenge of teaching anatomy at a distance to support the training of doctors in deprived areas of the country, particularly students of the Medical School of the University of Madeira, recently created, which was the Institute of Anatomy’s remit to support. The Institute was also responsible for teaching anatomy to students from the degrees in Dietetics and Nutrition, Microbiology, and Biomedical Engineering. In the 2007/2008 academic year, the subjects Anatomy and Neuroanatomy started to be offered in the degree in Health Sciences of the University of Lisbon. In order to improve educational conditions, new anatomical models were purchased, audiovisual and computing resources were updated and the Anatomical Theatre Professor Doutor Armando dos Santos Ferreira (Fig. 4 and Fig. 5) was recently inaugurated. It will be an indispensable tool for the teaching of modern human anatomy since, although resorting to imaging techniques in vivo, it does not waive the need to use indispensable cadaver dissection. Under the direction of Professor António José Gonçalves Ferreira, the Institute of Normal Anatomy of the Faculty of Medicine of Lisbon continues to make history incessantly. On 26-29 June 2013, it organized the 12th Congress of the European Association of Clinical Anatomy (EACA) at FMUL’s Egas Moniz building. It was a major success, bringing to Lisbon world-renowned anatomists. Professor Gonçalves Ferreira assumed the Presidency of the aforementioned International Association. The Institute of Normal Human Anatomy of the Faculty of Medicine of Lisbon is prepared to face the new challenges posed by a larger University, establishing itself as a major pedagogical and scientific place for studying, teaching and researching normal human morphology mostly in vivo in its most applied strands: undergraduate and postgraduate clinical and imaging18.

Fig.1: Professor Henrique de Vilhena, founder of the Institute of Normal Human Anatomy of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon.

Fig. 2: Drawings made by Anatomy students of the Faculty of Fine Arts of Lisbon, exhibited at the Institute.

Fig.3: Professor Armando dos Santos Ferreira. He was Director of the Institute of Anatomy and greatly encouraged the advancement of Clinical Anatomy and Translational Research.

Fig. 4: Picture of the facilities of the recently opened Professor Doutor Armando dos Santos Ferreira Anatomical Theatre.

Fig. 5: Display of body parts in the Anatomical Theatre, after remodelling.

REFERENCES

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