Transplantation: fantasy, fiction and fact.
Today organ transplantation is considered a routine surgical procedure. The idea of transferring tissues from one person to another has been inspiring to the minds of artists depicting the Saints Cosmos and Damian and also writers such as Mary Shelley. Early attempts at tissue transplantation were unsuccessful but in the last 50 years medical research has brought it into reality. The present paper looks at the subject from the realms of fantasy through the works of fiction and finally into everyday fact.
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. reginaldm@bigpond.com
Reginald
R
Magee
D004324:Drama / Q000266:history*; D049668:History, 15th Century; D049669:History, 16th Century; D049670:History, 17th Century; D049671:History, 18th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D008093:Literature, Modern / Q000266:history*; D008513:Medicine in Literature; D014180:Transplantation / Q000266:history*