''The Body Silent'' is a personal narrative written by

Robert Murphy Robert, Rob, Bob or Bobby Murphy may refer to: Sports Ice hockey *Robert Ronald Murphy or Ron Murphy (1933–2014), Canadian ice hockey player * Bob Murphy (ice hockey) (born 1951), Canadian retired professional ice hockey player * Rob Murphy (ice ...

, a professor at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. This piece is a narrative of personal struggle through a spinal condition, published in 1987 by Henry Holt and Company, Inc. He uses this narrative to tell his journey through a deteriorating spinal condition leading to

paraplegia Paraplegia, or paraparesis, is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The word comes from Ionic Greek () "half-stricken". It is usually caused by spinal cord injury or a congenital condition that affects the neural ...

. He was diagnosed with a

tumor A neoplasm () is a type of abnormal and excessive growth of tissue. The process that occurs to form or produce a neoplasm is called neoplasia. The growth of a neoplasm is uncoordinated with that of the normal surrounding tissue, and persists ...

extending from his second cervical vertebra to the eighth

thoracic vertebra In vertebrates, thoracic vertebrae compose the middle segment of the vertebral column, between the cervical vertebrae and the lumbar vertebrae. In humans, there are twelve thoracic vertebrae and they are intermediate in size between the cervical ...

in 1972. Through his narrative he tells his medical history and how the diagnosis of old medicine (late 1920s) knew very little about

neurology Neurology (from el, wikt:νεῦρον, νεῦρον (neûron), "string, nerve" and the suffix wikt:-logia, -logia, "study of") is the branch of specialty (medicine), medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of co ...

, and left undetected problems which created a new issue in his 50s. As an anthropology professor at

, he applies his field to his medical journey. "This book was conceived in the realization that my long illness with a disease of the spinal cord has been a kind of extended anthropological field trip, for through it I have sojourned in a social world no less strange to me at first than those of the Amazon forests. And since it is the duty of all anthropologists to report on their travels . . . this is my accounting." Due to funded research of his medical experiences and conditions, he provides the readers with a description and explanation of what he deals with, plus a constant discussion of future possibility and his mindset throughout.

Production

The

National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National I ...

funded production of the book, and it was published by

Holt Holt or holte may refer to: Natural world *Holt (den), an otter den * Holt, an area of woodland Places Australia * Holt, Australian Capital Territory * Division of Holt, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives in Vic ...

Genre

Metapathography pieces are not stories and tales of sickness, but a professional self-analysis and in-depth writing of ones personal state. Although metapathography is not a classified genre, other authors and professionals who reviewed his material defined it set aside from a personal narrative, due to his thorough analysis of mental and physical condition.

Biography

Robert Murphy was born on March 3, 1924, in Far Rockaway, New York. He was studious and became a distinguished anthropologist and professor of

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...

in New York City, from the early 1960s to 1990. He studied many different cultures across the globe, such as the

Mundurucu The Munduruku, also known as Mundurucu or Wuy Jugu or BMJ, are an indigenous people of Brazil living in the Amazon River basin. Some Munduruku communities are part of the Coatá-Laranjal Indigenous Land. They had an estimated population in 2014 ...

of the

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

and tribes in the

Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

. At the age of 66, he died in his home in Leonia, New Jersey.

Medical History

In 1928, Murphy lost the use of his leg. A house doctor diagnosed him with "a touch of

rheumatism Rheumatism or rheumatic disorders are conditions causing chronic, often intermittent pain affecting the joints or connective tissue. Rheumatism does not designate any specific disorder, but covers at least 200 different conditions, including art ...

" which took him two weeks to recover from. Murphy began to experience muscle spasms in his anus, and in his lower abdomen in 1972, and soon had trouble urinating. He was then diagnosed with an anal fissure, meaning of a slight break in the muscle. After a few years of symptoms, he visited a

neurologist Neurology (from el, νεῦρον (neûron), "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the brain, the spinal c ...

and was diagnosed with a benign but slowly growing tumor in the upper part of his

spinal cord The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular structure made up of nervous tissue, which extends from the medulla oblongata in the brainstem to the lumbar region of the vertebral column (backbone). The backbone encloses the central canal of the spi ...

. Within two years his

central nervous system The central nervous system (CNS) is the part of the nervous system consisting primarily of the brain and spinal cord. The CNS is so named because the brain integrates the received information and coordinates and influences the activity of all par ...

was severely damaged, and he lost control of most bodily functions.

Awards

In 1987, the book was awarded the Columbia University's Lionel Trilling Award.

References

* http://litmed.med.nyu.edu/Annotation?action=view&annid=1705 * ''The Body Silent'' by Robert F. Murphy * http://www.spineuniverse.com/conditions/spinal-tumors/spinal-tumors-descriptive-overview * https://www.nytimes.com/1990/10/11/obituaries/robert-f-murphy-66-professor-of-anthropology-and-an-author.html * http://www.pathography.blogspot.com/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Body Silent 1987 books