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Essay

Edward C. Halperin, MD
The Pornographic Anatomy Book? The Curious Tale of "The Anatomical Basis of Medical Practice"
The Pornographic Anatomy Book? The Curious Tale of "The Anatomical Basis of Medical Practice"
Excerpt
“. . . A graduate student working at Duke during this period remembers [R. Frederick] Becker as being ‘good with students, a wonderful, warm, and compassionate person, and every graduate student’s friend.’ A curious aspect of Becker’s office, however, was that it was ‘plastered with Playboy centerfolds, female nudes and male nudes used for anatomic drawings. He had dozens and dozens of them posted and used them to help for illustrations for anatomy class in teaching surface anatomy.’ Becker’s fascination with surface anatomy and his particular interest in the use of female nudes would lead to one of the more curious episodes in the history of anatomy textbooks: the 1971 publication of The Anatomical Basis of Medical Practice.”
In This Essay
  • The making of a medical textbook emphasizing surface anatomy, embryology, radiographic anatomy, and "pinup girls" 
  • Indecent exposure: Lambasted in the press and boycotted by the Association of Women in Science, the book proved hopelessly out of sync with the times
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Edward C. Halperin, MD
Biography
Edward Halperin was a faculty member in the Duke Department of Radiation Oncology from 1983 to 2006, serving as its chairman from 1996 through 2002. He was vice dean of the Duke University School of Medicine from 2002 to 2006. He attended Duke’s Graduate School during his lunch hour and in the evenings, leading to his receipt of a master of arts degree in 2006. He is currently dean of the medical school and professor of radiation oncology, pediatrics, and history at the University of Louisville -- which, he has been told, has a basketball team.

The views expressed within each of these essays are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Duke University School of Medicine or Duke University Health System.