Description

SPINAL CURVATURE DEMONSTRATED — ROTATION ACCOMPANYING LATERAL CURVATURE, probably American, late 19th century. This remarkable working anatomical “model” is constructed of human vertebrae, spring-supported, mounted in a fine columnar wood stand and measuring 20″ (51 cm) overall. Presentation plaques record its donation to a New York medical institution by a Dr. A.B. Judson, and its demonstration of “The Cause of Rotation in Lateral Curvature of the Spine, first seen by Andrew Dods, M.D., London, 1824.” Eighteen vertebrae are supported by a vertical rod and 32 horizontal springs. A brass knob (of “Eastlake” decor) on top can be depressed, giving downward pressure on the rod, which flexes and which, with the supporting springs, forces the spinal column into simultaneous lateral curvature and rotation. A brass arrow through one of the vertebrae helps track the motion, and there is a latch to arrest the rotation during deformation. The apparatus is complete and in fine condition throughout.

This presentation piece is from Dr. A.B. Judson, famous New York surgeon, onetime president of the American Orthopaedic Association. Judson wrote and lectured widely on spinal articulation, with particular attention to the natural rotation that occurs with sideways deformations. And it was Dr. Dods who first wrote on the “Rotated or Contorted spine.” A remarkable mechanical model.