Thangka Nine.jpg [4/7] Title: Skeletal Anatomy: Anterior View - Thangka Nine Source: Thangkas 025.jpg Caption: This painting is the first in a set of two, which show the skeletal structure of the body from both the anterior (frontal) and posterior (back) views. This thangka illustrates the 360 bones of the body, which are divided into 23 categories. The greatest number of these bones are found in the vertebrae, with 128 bones including the five cervical bones and three coccycal vertebrae (each of which is further subdivided into four parts.) These bones are connected through a system of 28 major joints, 12 of which correspond specifically to the extremities, and 210 minor joints. This painting also describes specifics on numbers of hairs, pores and tendons within the human body. Within the grided part of the painting lie the depictions of four of the five solid viscera, and five of the six hollow viscera. The solid viscera shown here are, in order: the heart, lungs, liver and spleen. The heart is identified in the middle of the chest, and the liver and spleen are labeled at the left and right of the orange triangle near the stomach. The final solid viscera, the kidneys, are shown on the posterior view of this series (not included in this presentation.) The five hollow viscera depicted in this thangka are, in order: the stomach, small intestine, large intestine, gall bladder and urinary bladder. The panel with the orange curls shows the small intestine, and the blue one beneath it depicts the urinary bladder. Traditionally in this painting, the urinary bladder is covered in waves, which are absent in this version. The final hollow viscera, the reproductive organs, are shown on the posterior skeletal painting (not included in this presentation.) The skeletal details of the teeth are shown in the skull on the left side of the thangka, while the specifics of the vertebrae are illustrated by the figure on the right. In this particular version of this painting, the size of the skull on the left is very small and does not fill the entire space. This is a clear pattern with the artist of this particular set of medical thangkas. Sources and Further reading: Dorje & Meyer: pg 29-30, 185-186 Jingfeng: 99-101