Wednesday 27 April 2011, 13:01
When I was a young medical student, it was felt that the best way to get a really good understanding of the workings of the human body was by dissecting a corpse.
Altruistic individuals would leave their bodies for students, like me, to tremblingly dissect.
These days you can get a more intimate and revealing understanding of the workings of the body by other methods.
This is largely thanks to improvements in scanning technology and far more sophisticated microscopy.
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Inside The Human Body, a series I have just finished making for BBC One, does what it says in the title. We decided to turn our cameras on the animal we love best - ourselves.
I was chosen to present the series because I have a background in medicine.
I trained as a doctor and have more than 20 years experience as a science journalist. I've presented a number of series for the BBC, including recently, The Young Ones and Blood And Guts: A History Of Surgery.
In this series we showcase the latest scientific images of the body, including a fabulous sequence of a human face forming inside the womb.
We also reveal some of the more unusual and surprising ways in which your body, minute-by-minute, struggles to keep you alive.
To illustrate the latest science we also filmed people who have managed to get their bodies to do some pretty amazing things, like breaking the world free-diving record or teaching their eyes to see with perfect clarity deep underwater.
I was particularly impressed by a magician who could do the most unbelievable tricks with his hyper-flexible hands.
The series covers the human experience from conception to death.
So, not only do you see the moment when sperm enters egg, detonating a series of violent explosions, viewers also see the moment when 84-year-old Gerald, surrounded by his family, draws his last breath.
In the programme that features Gerald, First To Last, we learn about all the things that the body does to keep itself in balance (homeostasis), and what happens when this balance is lost.
Gerald had terminal cancer but what ultimately killed him was probably his body's inability to maintain his red blood cell count.
Gerald agreed to be filmed because he thought it would be helpful to show that it is possible to pass away painlessly, at home, surrounded by your loved ones.
It's a series I greatly enjoyed making, partly because of the people in it like Gerald, partly because I learnt so much about the workings of my own body. I hope you get the time to watch.
Michael Mosley is the presenter of Inside The Human Body.
Inside The Human Body begins on BBC One and BBC One HD at 9pm on Thursday, 5 May.
You can watch the making of the programme on red button after each episode.
For further programme times, please visit the upcoming episodes page.
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Comment number 1.
Sarah1st May 2011 - 0:43
I'm still a young medical student and I completely agree with Michael about the value of dissection; something we are still fortunate enough to do at UCL.
As second year exams approach, I am surrounded by tottering piles of textbooks and lecture notes precariously balanced on my desk, making it through long days (and nights) of revision with endless cups of black coffee. In this crazy period of cramming for exams, it's far too easy to lose sight of just how amazing the human body is. The fascination about ourselves that draws so many into medicine - myself included - becomes lost in a fog of exam questions. I hope this series will help keep me sane during my revision!
Michael Mosley is an excellent and engaging presenter as he has proved on many occasions. In particular, I loved 'Medical Mavericks' and 'Blood and Guts: A History of Surgery'. I look forward to this latest series with great interest.
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Comment number 2.
Sue Shaw5th May 2011 - 23:33
The programme was interesting but the background music was very intrusive and spoilt my enjoyment. I could hardly hear the presenter in some parts.
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Comment number 3.
AndrewPB6th May 2011 - 0:36
"The top lip along with the jaw and palate started life as gill-like structures on your neck."
Perhaps Dr. Mosley would be kind enough to site some scientific evidence for using the descriptive term 'gill-like structures'. As far as I am aware, the slits or whatever you might like to call them do not have any gill-like function. Indeed they do not have any function to do with gaseous exchange.
The structures are 'gill-like' because Dr. Mosley chooses to call them 'gill-like' but with all due respect this is hardly a basis for accepting the description as scientifically correct.
I honestly thought that this tired old line had long been discredited but I guess old habits die hard.
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Comment number 4.
SarahB6th May 2011 - 1:25
It annoys me when scientists claim that because there are similarities in the makeup of creatures, in this case, man and fish, that the one evolved from the other. When you look at the work of an artist or an author, their works are distinguishable by certain traits and characteristics that we refer to as the style of the artist, yet each piece of art work is considered to be a stand alone piece. As far as I'm concerned this is where intelligent design comes in to play. If God is the Author, then His trademark style will be seen in each work of art, offering clues that each one was made by the same Creator.
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Comment number 5.
thehookey6th May 2011 - 13:19
Andrewpb is right comparative embryonic development between species has long been discredited as an indication of evolution. Evolutionist delight in mocking the concept of burning bushes and virgin births but do not see the absurdity of stating that we came from fish! Both sides require a tremendous act of faith
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Comments 5 of 51