“The human features and countenance, although composed of some ten parts or a little more, are so fashioned that among so many thousands of men there are no two in existence who cannot be distinguished from one another.

Book 7, Sect 8.”  Pliny the Elder, AD 23-79.

people, nations, united nations, Ashley Davidoff MD, The Common Vein

Variability is the law of life,” Sir William Osler.

people, women, The Common Vein, Ashley Davidoff MD
Women of the World
Men of the World

Individuality of Biological Units

In the previous section, Units to Unity, the importance of each biological unit ? be it cell, tissue, or organ ? was described as a function of its joining with other units to form a larger whole.  Given this description and the discussion of the ?pride? of the atom or cell it would seem that the individuality of each biological unit should be considered subordinate to its role in the group dynamic.  However, it is important to understand that the unique characteristics of the individual unit are, in fact, critical to the proper functioning of the whole that they construct and must not be devalued.  For instance, it is the great diversity of cellular structures and morphology in the body that allows for a vast array of tissues and organs, each with a distinct and critical physiologic function.  Without the uniqueness of the individual cell such functional diversity would not be possible.

 

The Earth – An apparent independant unit – but little does it know

Is There Only One Earth?

54954 Courtesy of NASA – National Space Science Data Center