of chapter seven from Denis Wood’s book, that my reasoning for this project is easily justified. In
chapter 7, Denis Wood talks about a genre of maps that are not typical to maps we interact with every
day. Maps can be in art form. My project, I feel, connects these two worlds. The map I designed for this
project, may not be seen as a map at first. As you will read in a moment, I have found a way to map something unseen, and have a direction, but it is not considered a typical land mass map.
‘Testudines illness’ can spread slowly but kill quickly. Due to their protective outer layer testudines,
turtles do not show their illnesses. Their shell or carapace, which means the hard upper shell of a turtle,
crustacean, or arachnid, holds in and hides the organs and body parts we would look at on other
animals to check their health. It is extremely hard to find images of testudines and their anatomy on
the internet, and the lack of printed reading material, makes it impossible to learn about the anatomy
and illnesses these creatures can posses. This is why I found it particularly important that illness of
testudines should be mapped, and could be mapped graphically to enhance an individual’s ability to
understand the anatomy and an illness.
As you will see, included with this essay the five layers of my map are images created to show the layers of a testudine’s anatomy. The five layers are; a muscle layer, an organ layer, the bone layer, a carapace layer, and a symptoms layer. The reasoning for creating five layers was to the advance future use of these images. It was my intention to create other illness/symptom layers so that a veterinary student could study the testudines more effectively. The extra layers to be created later could be combined with any of the previous five layers for study. They would be labeled to connect the correct illnesses with the correct body section layer.
Each of the layers is printed on a transparency. This is so that it is clearer that each layer is connected
as a whole in a testudines’ body, but this is also the different areas of a testudines can be pulled into
separate layers for the intent of better learning and understanding. I have included two versions of my
final product for this assignment. My first example shows the clear transparencies on top of each other
without any white paper between each layer. This was done so that one could study more than one
layer together. The second example has a layer of paper between each transparency so that each layer
can be viewed clearly. Included with each example is a layer that has a numbering system attached
to circles and a disease. This layer coordinates with the mapping part of my assignment. This layer
maps the symptoms and the direction in which disease affects Testudines. It is my intent with further
research to expand on this with explanations and specifics after meeting with my vet who is familiar
with, and works with these creatures.
In conclusion, I would like to illiterate that this project is a map and should be considered a map, as
well as meets the specifications of the assignment. Definition of a map is a diagram or collection of
data showing the spatial arrangement or distribution of something over an area. In biology the term
mapping means a representation of the sequence of genes on a chromosome or bases in DNA or RNA
molecules. The verb is to record in detail the spatial distribution of something and associate (a group of elements or qualities) with an equivalent group, according to a particular formula or model. This project records a collection of data showing the spatial arrangement or distribution of something over an area. The collection of data is the layers of the body parts, the diseases, and the movement of a disease. The area is the body part. Both confine to the definition and verb of a map. Also, this project maps something that is unseen by the human eye. A disease is a unseen disorder of structure or function in a human, animal or plant, especially one that produces specific signs or symptoms that affect a specific location. This I feel defines not only unseen, but also relates back to location. Overall, my project meets all these requirements through the careful thought that went into the design and is apparent in the final.