| In medical schools, doctors use plastic models to teach students the specific names and functions of body parts. But one professor in the USA is using hands sculpted by a 19th century French sculptor. The artist was very passionate about the human form. He created highly detailed hands from bronze. In addition to that, he was curious about medical conditions that affected hands. Because of this, he actually sculpted sets of hands that had been deformed by these conditions. Doctors can show these hands to students and test students’ abilities to recognise the problems. A computer program allows students to see where bones and blood vessels would be situated in the hands. The method is very useful for teaching diseases of the hand. It also doubles as a rich experience in fine art. |