1,721,080 research outputs found
Experiences from the past. Comparative research between hospital archive sources and human remains
No full textCriminal anthropology has obtained great interest in the field of History of Medicine. Lombroso had several followers between the late 19th and the first half of the 20th century and the literature of that time showed that the positivistic tools of biomedicine were useful to demonstrate a profound connection between “anomalous behaviors and anomalous anatomy”. Although these concepts are outdated, it is interesting to highlight how scientific methods adopted in this case by De Blasio, or the comparison between the archival sources and bone samples, is extremely modern for the time
The Italian law on informed consent and advance directives: New rules of conduct for the autonomy of doctors and patients in end-of-life care
No full textPurpose: Italy has long lacked a law regulating patients' informed consent and advance directives (ADs). All previous attempts to introduce a law on this matter failed to reach positive outcomes, and aroused heated ideological debate over the exact meaning of life and death. We report on the new law on informed consent and ADs approved by the Italian Parliament on 14th December 2017. Materials and methods: We analyse the new law and discuss the main ethical points connected with it, in the Italian context and in comparison with the international situation. Results: The law provides for fundamental ethical principles and important guidelines: respect for patients' self-determination in all phases of life, option to refuse or interrupt life-sustaining treatments, including artificial nutrition and hydration, the legitimacy of end-of-life decisions, and the implementation of palliative care to ease suffering and pain. Conclusions: The effects of the new law must be tested in the field. Its objectives will be achieved if, in clinical practice, ADs are able to satisfactorily represent informed personal preferences through patients' relationships with their physicians, as part of personalized advance care planning. Future studies are necessary to assess the impact of the new law in Italy
Psyche and human thought from the anatomies of the past
Full text linkDe Blasio's research focuses on the anthropology of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His investigations extend from criminalistics to ancient mummies, driven by his passion for archaeology and human history. He delves into the intricate relationship between anatomy and the human psyche, intertwining disciplines like archaeology, anthropology, and history. His examination of ancient human remains, though lacking modern tools, reveals insights into embalming practices and cultural beliefs. De Blasio's interest in craniology leads to the exploration of cranial deformations, considering as cultural factors. By connecting anthropology with psychology, he questions the cognitive effects of cranial deformations and even associates certain traits with skull morphology. This interplay showcases his ability to merge natural and cultural sciences, offering unique perspectives on human development and cultural practices
European and Italian regulations for food safety, the deliberate release into the environment of GMOs and the procedures for their labelling and traceability
No full textIs it necessary to contrast the spreading process of genetic engineering in the agri-food stuff sector? Can EU rules really consider the impact of this brand new technologies on biology and, consequently, on public health? Despite the general trend, a firm opposition is what is happening in some Regions of Italy, where GMOs production and placing on the market are foibidden
The role of the spiritual dimension in medical decisions
No full textSpirituality and science, in medicine, belong to worlds that are only apparently distant and irreconcilable. Clinical practice constantly testifies how they, while maintaining their own identity, walk in parallel, influencing and supporting each other in defining a treatment path. The anthropological perspective of the concept of health also refers to recognizing the breadth and complexity of its dimension, as the result of an intricate set of biological, psychic, social, cultural and spiritual factors, in a continuous relationship with the environment in which the individual lives and interacts. This awareness calls for a peculiar consideration and attention towards this dimension, which also requires an adequate preparation of health personnel and clinicians to recognize and take charge of the spiritual needs of the patients. The cultural process that goes by the name of “humanization of care” constitutes the terrain that must be explored in order to attempt the reconciliation between science and spirituality
The reasons underlying ethics within the archaeo-anthropological arena
No full textHuman historical findings of the past represent a precious scientific and cultural source for acquiring knowledge of humankind’s evolution. In Italy, still timidly, albeit with a greater frequency if compared to the past, the ethical reflection is turning its attention over processing the material mentioned above, which dwells in an intermediate position between living and what cannot be deemed living anymore. The reasons for a specific codification aimed at processing those findings, with the ultimate goal of fostering the spreading of good practices among researchers and those who operate within the cultural heritage field, are miscellaneous. In the search for a balance between anthropologic, ethical, and religious instances evoked by these findings and those on the development of knowledge and scientific research, which those findings can ensure, ethical expertise may furnish the necessary coordinates to question the needed interventions within the area of interest in the view of specific human values. It is hence necessary to provide in the curricular path of archaeologists, anthropologists, physicians, biologists, museum curators and those working in this particular disciplinary field, a proper ethical education on the handling of these artefacts, which could ensure adequate consideration of the various interests and rights involved and a proper balance between research and respect
Criteri di scelta e problematiche medico - legali dell'ammissione - dimissione dai reparti di terapia intensiva
No full textFive brains of alienated criminals. Neurological investigations of early twentieth century criminal anthropology
No full textBackground: For the followers of criminal anthropology, during the second half of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, the association “anatomical anomaly – psyche anomaly” represented an immediate diagnostic tool to identify mental illness and consequently the tendency to become a criminal. In this article, we analyse a clinical report published in 1900 in which the author, Dr. Saporito, described five brains of alienated criminals from the Aversa asylum. Methods: Through the observations of Dr. Saporito's autoptic evaluations and the literature of the times, the beliefs of the positivist science of that time are highlighted. Results: The identification of multiple physical anomalies focused on the brains, with particular attention to the alteration at the level of some fissures, could lead to identify psychiatric disorders and criminal tendency. Conclusions: From the observations presented here, the author reiterated that several anomalies recorded in these five brains reproduced atavistic characteristics, which disappeared in the ontogenetic and phylogenetic evolution of the human brain
Doctor’s responsibility and end of life: the right to negotiate “time”
No full textThe end of life continues to be at the center of a lively debate that involves complex and heterogeneous ethical issues (palliative care, pain therapy, the freedom to refuse treatment, therapeutic obstinacy, advance treatment provisions) and that, today, are polarized on access to the request to end one's existence affected by an illness with a poor prognosis and source of suffering.
An aspect of great importance, still little explored on the ethical level, concerns the right of persons suffering from intreatable pathologies to live their time in accordance with their own demands.
The work aims to investigate the person’s right to self-determination and to plan in the way deemed most appropriatethe last years or months of his life, as a distinct and autonomous right with respect to that pertaining to the loss of chances of healing. This instance recognizes the patient's active and aware capacity to organize materially and spiritually his remaining time within his own personal option of value.
The authors comment on a ruling by the Supreme Court of Cassation that has emphasized that the system must not be at all indifferent to the need of the human being "to enter death with open eyes"
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