Vergroting van een stuk dikke darm met littekenweefsel van zweren door difterie before 1879

This photograph, "Vergroting van een stuk dikke darm met littekenweefsel van zweren door difterie" shows us an enlarged section of a colon scarred by diphtheritic ulcers. Its monochrome palette casts a stark and somewhat unsettling view. The arrangement of its topographical forms with raised ridges and valleys, punctuated by clusters of small, crater-like marks, creates a strange yet compelling landscape. What we see here transcends mere medical documentation. The photograph's composition destabilizes our expectations by presenting the interior of the human body as an abstract terrain. The scars, typically signs of healing, take on a new meaning. They become signifiers of a deeper, more complex narrative about the body, disease, and the visible traces they leave behind. This challenges fixed meanings, inviting us to reflect on the body's vulnerability and resilience.