Anatomy is a musical instrument of the most perfect construction but one exceedingly liable to derangement.

Abstract

In regard to anatomy, Cruveilhier quoted Francis Bacon as saying, “it may be compared, from its complex and delicate organization, to a musical instrument of the most perfect construction but exceedingly liable to derangement” (Pattison, 1853). “And the whole science of medicine is therefore reduced to a knowledge of the means by which that harmonious instrument, the human frame, may be so tuned and touched as to yield correct and pleasing sounds. The organization or structure of man is the object of anatomy, a science which investigates every distinguishable material condition of the different parts that enter into the construction of his frame.” Francis Bacon (1561–1626) (Figure 1) was an English philosopher and statesman. He was Lord Chancellor of England and remembered most for developing the scientific method. His Baconian method or inductive reasoning would influence many during the scientific revolution. Novum Organum would become Bacon's seminal work. Bacon was counsel to Elizabeth I and went on to be knighted by James I who was the son of Mary, Queen of Scots and the great-great-grandson of Henry VIII. Bacon helped establish colonies in Virginia and the Carolinas. Thomas Jefferson considered Bacon, Locke, and Newton as the three greatest men to have ever lived. We believe that Bacon would have appreciated the clinical anatomy found in this current issue of the Journal. Herein, the reader will find articles dealing with the development of the nasopharynx, innervation of the elbow joint, the subtalar joints, and variations of the celiac trunk.