Functional Morphology:
The Dynamic Wholeness of the Human Organism(2
customer eviews)
by Johannes W. Rohen
Adonis Press, 2007
ISBN 978-0932776-36-5
8.5 x 11 inches
hardcover; 429 pages; $75.00
Book Description
Physicians around the world are familiar with Johannes Rohen’s books on human anatomy. In this his last major work, Rohen presents the fruits of his lifelong study of the human organism. Viewing the various organs and organ systems in the context of the organism as a dynamic whole, Rohen arrives at new and profound insights. This book significantly supplements and expands the concepts of general anatomy and offers a new basis for approaching the interaction of body and soul. It not only conveys information but also awakens the reader’s astonishment and joy at the unique nature of the human being.
In this encompassing book, Rohen discusses such topics as:
- How the human organism—as a whole, and in every part—is structured by a fundamental polarity that manifests as:
form ↔ movement,
central nervous system ↔ metabolism,
information exchange ↔ material processes,
consciousness ↔ unconsciousness,
and how these polarities are mediated by rhythmical functions such as those found in the respiratory and circulatory systems.
- How the central nervous system can be understood as an instrument of consciousness but not as the producer of consciousness.
- The unique relationship between the human body and the three dimensions of space.
- How a dynamic view of the human body can reveal surprising relationships between organs and organ systems.
- Significant embryological and evolutionary aspects of the human organism.
Review
THE JOURNAL OF ALTERNATIVE AND COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE -- Volume 14, Number 7, 2008, pp. 855–856
Functional Morphology, The Dynamic Wholeness of the Human Organism
by Johannes W. Rohen, M.D.
Johannes W. Rohen’s remarkable book opens with the question, “Is our human organism—or any organism for that matter—merely the result of millions of physicochemical reactions, or are there structural, morphological principles that integrate these individual events into a living, dynamic whole?”
Dr. Rohen, now in his 80s, is well known to medical students and anatomists worldwide for his Color Atlas of Anatomy: A Photographic Study of the Human Body, one of the most widely used anatomy texts, currently in its sixth edition. During his long and productive career as Professor of Anatomy, Rohen describes a parallel lifetime endeavor “to understand functional relationships, living wholes, and qualitative aspects” of the human organism. He pursued the discipline of phenomenology and the organic scientific method originated by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe1 and elucidated by Rudolf Steiner.2 In this book, we have the fruit of his decades of quiet, inspired efforts to describe human structure in a way that overcomes one-sided reductionist thinking, while holding to the spirit of scientific inquiry. Functional Morphology does not describe the human body part by part. Relationships between structures become as illuminating as the structures in themselves. We are asked, not to sit back with only our left brains in gear, but to participate in the concepts described: to contemplate them, and see if they come to life within us. In this way, the parts gradually reveal themselves in relation to the whole.
Dr. Rohen’s central concept is the threefold structuring principle, originated by Steiner. In the first section of Functional Morphology, Rohen shows how the human body is arranged so that the informational (and informational, or form-conveying) functions are centered in the head and the nervous system. Processing of material—nutrition, storage, and elimination—is centered in the metabolic system in the abdominal cavity. Transportation, distribution, and mediation between these two poles take place anatomically between those poles, in the organs of the chest, heart, and lungs, via the functions of circulation and gas exchange for which they are responsible. He shows how this overarching organizing principle runs from the whole skeleton and whole organ-systems, right down to the organization of each of the body’s cells.
Subsequent sections deal in detail with each of the three divisions, showing how, if we are willing to look and to see precisely how the body is composed, a world of integrated form and function is revealed. Here is one example among many. The author describes the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS), showing in beautifully worked-out detail how this one division of the nervous system is further divided in a threefold manner: the more “informational” aspect of the hypothalamus and limbic systems of the brain; the ANS’ nerves in the spine, which are rhythmically segmented, and most closely associated with breathing and heart, that is, belonging to the rhythmic system; and the diffuse, unconscious, plexuses (such as the solar plexus) connected with the metabolic organs, which are least “informational” in character.
In the course of a nuanced discussion of the pituitary and pineal glands, Rohen writes, “Discovering such connections is a slow process, more intuitive than factual.” He could not make such a statement if his book were not very well supported by the facts of anatomy, in which he is utterly expert.
His book, therefore, offers the reader an unusually well grounded exercise in infusing our step-by-step, analytic style of knowledge with a sober opening to intuition. It is an extraordinary, pioneering work in this regard.
The final section, on evolution with reference to the human spirit, should have been left out. Unlike the rest of the book, this chapter consists of speculative ideas, insufficiently supported by evidence. Furthermore, while they may have merit, Rohen’s ideas could be misinterpreted as a fundamentalist- style “intelligent design” theory, and could potentially blind readers to a fair appraisal of the rest. The remainder of the book is too solid and too important to have taken this risk with material that could easily be presented in another context.
This book is highly recommended to anyone interested in going beyond a reductionist scientific and medical paradigm. It should be given to every medical student with any aspirations toward holism.
References
1. Bortoft H. The Wholeness of Nature, Goethe’s Way Toward a Science of Conscious Participation in Nature. Hudson, NY: Lindesfarne Press, 1996.
2. Steiner R. Goethean Science. Spring Valley, NY: Mercury Press, 1988.
Alicia Landman-Reiner, M.D.
Contents
Introduction XIII
Author’s Preface XV
BASIC CONCEPTS AND GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF FORM
Introductory Epistemological Remarks ..............................................................................................3
Seeing as an Example of Sensory and Cognitive Processes 4
Perceiving and Thinking 9
The Goethean Scientific Method 10
Branches of Human Morphology 12
General Principles of Form.................................................................................................................14
The Functional Threefoldness of the Human Organism 14
Basic Functions in the Human Body 16
The Functional Threefoldness of the Human Body 19
The Functional Threefoldness of the Cell 22
Functional Threefoldness and the Human Soul 23
Structural Principles in the Human Body and Qualitaties of the Dimensions of Space 26
The Right-Left Dimension 26
The Up-Down Dimension 28
The Front-Back Dimension 28
Functional Differentiations within Dimensional Structural Principles 30
The Temporal Structure of the Human Body—Qualitative Aspects of Space and Time 35
Human Embryological Development: Steps in Taking Hold of the Dimensions of Space 37
Conception 37
Structural Stages of Embryonic Development 43
Qualitative Differences in the First Four Stages of Embryonic Development 46
Human Embryonic Development and Placentation 48
The Development of Internal Organ Systems in the Body 59
Spiritual-Scientific Aspects of Embryonic Development 62
Prior Stages of the Earth’s Evolution 62
A Comparison of Human Embryonic Development and the Earth’s Evolution 63
Phylogenetic Processes………………………………………………………………...............................64
Incremental Mastery of the Dimensions of Space in Vertebrate Evolution 64
Limb Evolution 64
Head Evolution 65
Human Consciousness and the Experience of Space 67
Adaptation and Antiadaptation as Evolutionary Principles 69
Adaptive and Antiadaptive Processes 71
The Evolution of the Skull and Head 74
Antiadaptation and Orthogenesis as Evolutionary Principles 84
THE METABOLIC-LIMB SYSTEM
The Musculoskeletal System .............................................................................................................87
The Structure of the Skeletal System 87
The System of Active Movement (Muscles and Joints) 100
Joints and Sutures 100
Functional Threefoldness of the Muscular System 103
Muscles as Intermediaries between Blood and Nerves 111
Movement as a Threefold Psycho-Physical Process 112
The Metabolic System and Digestive Organs………………………………………............................115
Basic Metabolic Processes 115
The Functional Significance of Metabolism 119
Functional Subdivision of the Digestive Tract 120
The Hepatobiliary System 125
The Biliary System and Hemoglobin Metabolism 131
The Immune System, Lymphatic Organs, and Spleen ..................................................................135
General Organization of the Immune System 135
The Lymphatic Organs and the Lymph System 137
The Spleen 140
Liver, Biliary System, and Spleen: The Organ Trinity of the Upper Abdomen 142
The Urogenital System: The Organs of Excretion and Reproduction .........................................145
Morphology of the Urinary System (Kidneys) 145
Ontogeny and Phylogeny of the Urinary System 149
The Phylogenetic Development of the Kidneys 153
Morphology and Development of the Reproductive Organs 156
Development of the Gonads 160
THE ORGANS OF THE RHYTHMIC SYSTEM
Blood and the Organs of Circulation ..............................................................................................165
Functional Threefoldness of the Circulatory System 165
The Lymphatic Vascular System and the Body’s Fluid System 168
Blood and Bone Marrow 169
The Heart 174
The Ontogenetic Development of the Heart and the Dimensions of Space 174
Cardiac Development and the Dimensions of Space 175
Development of the Cardiac Tube 176
Septation of the Cardiac Tube and the Right-Left Dimension 178
The Heart and the Front-Back Dimension 181
The Function of the Heart 182
Phylogenetic Development of the Heart and Circulatory System 185
Centralization 185
Concentration 191
Fetal Circulation 197
The Empirical Principle in the Evolution of the Circulatory System 199
The Respiratory System .................................................................................................................. 201
The Connection between the Respiratory and Digestive Systems
(First Archetypal Phenomenon) 201
Lung Development and Respiration 204
Respiratory Rhythm (Second Archetypal Phenomenon) 206
Human Chronobiological Rhythms 208
The Organs of Speech and the Faculty of Speech (Third Archetypal Phenomenon) 211
Evolution of the Speech Organs 211
The Human Speech Organs 211
THE NERVOUS SYSTEM AND THE SENSE ORGANS
The Functional Threefoldness of the Nervous System ............................................................... 217
Development of the Nervous System 217
Basic Morphological Divisions of the Nervous System 221
Basic Nerve Tissue Functions 223
General Structure of Reflex Arcs in the Three Functional Domains .of the Nervous System 228
The Major Sensorimotor Systems ................................................................................................. 234
The First Sensorimotor System (Monosynaptic myostatic reflex arc) 235
The Second Functional System of the Sensorimotor Systems
(Complex polysynaptic reflexes) 235
Cortical Motor Systems (Pyramidal system—the 5th sensorimotor system) 236
Subcortical Motor System (4th sensorimotor system) 238
The Vestibular System and the Cerebellum (3rd sensorimotor system) 242
The Sensory Systems ..................................................................................................................... 243
Functional Subdivision and Action of the Sensory Systems 243
General Functioning of the Senses 244
Asymmetry of Sensory Reflex Loops 248
The Organs of Hearing and Balance 249
The Outer Ear 251
The Temporal Bone, the Middle Ear, and Pneumatization 252
The Organ of Hearing 256
The Vestibular Organ 262
The Organs of Speech and the Functional Cycle of Hearing and Speaking 263
The Eye and the Visual System 264
Morphology and Embryonic Development of the Eye 264
The Visual Process and the Optic Tract 269
The Eye’s Auxiliary Functional Systems 276
The Visual System as a Whole 279
The Chemical Senses (Taste and Smell) 279
The Sense of Taste (Gustatory System) 280
The Organ of Smell and the Olfactory System 282
Surface Sensitivity (The Skin Senses) 286
The Sense of Warmth or Temperature 287
The Organs of the Sense of Touch 289
The Sense of Pain 293
Deep Sensitivity (The Muscle Senses) 293
The Sense of Equilibrium 294
The Visceral Senses (Sense of Life) 297
The Sensory System as a Whole 298
The Autonomic or Vegetative Nervous System ............................................................................ 301
The Peripheral Organizational Level (Intramural System) 303
How Autonomic Nerves Work 303
Structure and Function of Autonomic Reflex Loops 304
The Middle Organizational Level (The Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Systems) 306
The Upper Organizational Level (Hypothalamus and Limbic System) 310
The Hypothalamus 310
The Limbic System 312
The Nervous System and Consciousness .................................................................................... 314
The Brain as the Organ of Consciousness 314
Lateralization of the Hemispheres 315
Consciousness and Subconsciousness 317
The Nervous System as the Foundation of the Human Soul and Spirit 318
The Endocrine System (Hormonal Glands) .................................................................................. 320
Development and Function of the Endocrine Organs 321
The Pharyngeal Organs: Thyroid, Parathyroids, and Thymus 322
The Abdominal Endocrine Glands: Pancreatic Islets of Langerhans and Adrenals 326
The Pituitary as an Endocrine Organ 328
The Endocrine System and the Reproductive Organs 330
The Pituitary/Pineal System 330
HEAD DEVELOPMENT AND ORGAN METAMORPHOSES
Head Development and the Integration Principle ........................................................................ 335
Development and Metamorphosis of Bony Elements 337
Development of the Human Skull 340
Development of the Torso Skeleton 343
The Skull as a Metamorphosis of the Torso and Limb Skeleton 345
Vertebral Metamorphosis 346
Upper Limb Metamorphosis 351
The Zygomatic Bone and the Frontal Bone 353
Lower Limb Metamorphosis 354
Temporal Bone and Pelvis 356
The Principle of Formative Integration in Tooth Development 358
The Threefoldness of the Facial Skeleton and the Physiognomy of the Human Face 362
The Integrative Arrangement of the Cranial Nerves 364
Organ Metamorphoses ................................................................................................................... 366
Kidney/Eye Metamorphosis 366
Upper Abdomen/Labyrinth Metamorphosis 370
Head Development and the Disintegration Principle .................................................................. 373
The Respiratory System of the Head ............................................................................................ 377
The Ethmoid Bone and the Paranasal Sinuses 377
The Paranasal Sinuses 379
The Olfactory System 380
The Branchial Apparatus (Branchial or Pharyngeal Skeleton) 381
Metamorphosis of the Reproductive Organs into the Organs of Speech 382
The Pituitary/Pineal System ........................................................................................................... 385
EVOLUTIONARY ASPECTS OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
The Physiological Foundations of Freedom ................................................................................ 391
Rhythms in Human Life 393
Evolutionary Principles and the Genesis of the Modern Human Form ..................................... 396
Adaptation and Antiadaptation 397
The Empirical Principle 498
Orthogenesis 400
Human and Animal Evolution 401
Summary 402
The Future of Human Evolution and the Problem of the Resurrection Body............................ 405
References 411
Index 416
About the Author 425
Sample illustration:
