In an aging society, there is high necessity of chronic disease management, an higher interest in natural healing, and demands for transition from therapeutic medicine to preventive medicine. Therefore, it is important that humanistic and sociologic ...
In an aging society, there is high necessity of chronic disease management, an higher interest in natural healing, and demands for transition from therapeutic medicine to preventive medicine. Therefore, it is important that humanistic and sociological insight and holistic perspective of Korean Medicine work together to meet these needs, and create a new social flow that aims for a healthy life. The objective of this research is to re-establish a structure-and-function integrative body perspective of Korean Medicine based on the contemporary philosophy and cultural thinking, by restoring and reconstructing the anatomy process based on the anatomy events of the East in pre-modern times. Based on Hanshu(漢書) 「Wangmangchuan(王莽傳)」 which documented anatomy of the human body in pre-modern times, anatomy records by Ouxifan(歐希範) in the Dongzhaijishi(東齋記事) of Fanzhen(范鎭) in the Northern Song period, and those found in 「Cunzhentu(存眞圖)」 in Junzhaidushuzhi(郡齋讀書志) by Chaogongwu(晁公武) together with other anatomy related contents in medical and historical texts, the background, objective, subject of the anatomy event and its relationship with the establishment of medical knowledge were analyzed to restore the anatomy process. The restored process was then analyzed in aspects of principles and laws related to anatomical subjects(cadavers), preparation process of the cadaver, objective, order and preliminary knowledge, findings and documentation during the anatomy process, evaluation of learned contents following anatomy, and the application of anatomical knowledge, which were re-categorized into 1)regulations(laws related to anatomical subjects, acquisition and permission of cadaver use), 2)anatomy performance(observational contents in the anatomy process), 3)objectives(anatomical aim, application of anatomical knowledge), 4)ritual(treatment process before and after anatomy, ritual ceremony). Body perspectives of Korean Medicine has been studied through a relatively abstract lens of Yin/Yang and Five Phases compared to its biomedical counterpart. However, restoration of the anatomy process based on the actual anatomical events followed by its comparative analysis with related texts revealed that the body perspectives of KM was an positivist effort that aimed for reconstruction of the human physiological function, integrating a basis of authentic functional perspectives of KM with anatomical knowledge learned through actual observation and recordings during anatomy. Potential themes where findings of current research could be applied in society such as expansion to other fields and education includes development of new medical technology and diagnostic and therapeutic tools within the new current in KM based on the positivist body perspective, followed by establishment of a common value system for the dual medicines, that would help construct a Korean welfare medical system. In interdisciplinary research aspects, integrative research with fields such as philosophy, history, theology, etc., could be activated, leading to subsequent researches such as organizing the body(both physical body and mind) perspectives and cosmology of KM or Eastern philosophy. Moreover, restoration of the anatomy process of pre-modern times can help set the direction of an integrative anatomy education of both KM and biomedicine, leading to development of a new anatomical curriculum.