Opgespannen stuk dikke darm met opgezwollen holtes before 1879

This image, created by E.J. Ward, depicts a section of the colon with follicular ulceration. But let us see how it speaks to us. Consider the colon itself: an organ of absorption and expulsion, a critical yet often unspoken part of human existence. The image evokes a sense of the grotesque, similar to the visceral impact of certain Renaissance depictions of flayed bodies, like those found in anatomical theaters. These images, though separated by time and purpose, share an unflinching gaze at the corporeal reality we often prefer to ignore. The swollen cavities and ulcerations remind us of the medieval "memento mori" tradition, where images of decay served as reminders of mortality, the transient nature of life. The medical gaze, like the religious gaze of earlier times, seeks to understand and perhaps control the chaotic forces of life and death. The colon becomes a symbol of the body's vulnerability, a site where disease and decay manifest, engaging our collective memory of human frailty.