title: [Imaging and the new fabric of the human body].
abstract: A short historical survey recalls the main techniques of medical imaging, based on modern physico-chemistry and computer science. Imagery has provided novel visions of the inside of the body, which are not self-obvious but require a training of the gaze. Yet, these new images have permeated the contemporary mind and inspired esthetic ventures. The popularity of these images may be related to their ambiguous status, between real and virtual. The images, reminiscent of Vesalius' De humani corporis fabrica, crosslink art, science and society in a specific way: which role will they play in the "empowerment" of the tomorrow patient?
authors.affiliation: CNRS UMR SPHERE-7219, Université Paris 7, bâtiment Condorcet, 10 rue A. Domont, Paris, France. anne.saintromain@gmail.com
authors.forename: Anne-Marie
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Moulin
authors.forename: Jean-Louis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Baulieu
mesh_terms: D001154:Art; D004954:Esthetics; D018594:Human Body; D006801:Humans; D007092:Imagination; D007254:Information Science; D051598:Whole Body Imaging / Q000379:methods*