Literary notes about Viscera (AI summary)
Literary authors employ “viscera” in a variety of ways, ranging from the precise anatomical to the evocatively metaphorical. In scientific or medical contexts, it is used as a technical term to denote internal organs—the intestines, stomach, and associated structures—as seen in descriptions of the abdominal cavity and surgical anatomy ([1], [2], [3]). Yet beyond its clinical utility, “viscera” also carries a raw, emotional resonance in literature, often evoking the essence of life or the visceral impact of bodily disruption. This dual usage can be seen in works that describe physical horror or existential despair, such as the chilling imagery of organs in grotesque disarray ([4], [5], [6]), while others invoke it to suggest an inner core that is fundamental to both biological and emotional life ([7], [8]).
- The posterior cavity of the body, containing the intestines and others of the viscera.
— from The Ancient Life History of the Earth A Comprehensive Outline of the Principles and Leading Facts of Palæontological Science by Henry Alleyne Nicholson - On inspection of the abdominal viscera in situ, the transverse colon was observed to lie a little above the line of the umbilicus.
— from The Life and Public Services of James A. Garfield Twentieth President of the United States, Including Full and Accurate Details of His Eventful Administration, Assassination, Last Hours, Death, Etc., Together with Notable Extracts from His Speeches and Letters by E. E. (Emma Elizabeth) Brown - Peritonitis is an inflammation of the serous membrane lining the cavity of and covering the viscera contained within the abdomen.
— from Special Report on Diseases of the Horse by W. H. (William Heyser) Harbaugh - “Shall I expose the viscera?” Kennon’s stomach froze.
— from The Lani People by Jesse F. Bone - I’m pitching over, my lungs bursting out of my chest and spreading before me like wings, spinal gristle and viscera showering the guests before me.
— from Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow - I am well pleased to see their pain change its viscera.
— from Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand - The Latin viscera occurs still more frequently in this sense, as the passages quoted in Wetstein and Suicer show.
— from St. Paul's Epistles to the Colossians and Philemon by J. B. Lightfoot - On τὰ σπλάγχνα, the nobler viscera, regarded as the seat of the emotions, see the note on Phil. i. 8.
— from St. Paul's Epistles to the Colossians and Philemon by J. B. Lightfoot
