The Illustrations from the Works of Andreas Vesalius

THE ILLUSTRATIONS FROM THE WORKS OF ANDREAS VESALIUS. With annotations and translations, a discussion of the plates and their background, authorship, and influence, and a biographical sketch of Vesalius by J. B. deC. M. Saunders and Charles D. O'Malley. Cleveland, World Publishing Company, 1950. 248 pp. $10.00. Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564) was, more than any other man, the founder of modern anatomy. His greatest work, De humani corporis fabrica, was published in 1543. It is a superbly illustrated work, and 73 of the 96 plates in this reproduction contain the illustrations from the Fabrica. The other plates are from Vesalius' Epitome of the Fabrica (1543), his Venesection Letter (1539), and his Tabulae Sex (1538). However, the plates from the great Fabrica are the most important in terms of Vesalius' contribution to anatomy. The 30-page introductory biographical sketch of Vesalius is excellent. It does not contain any new evidence, but there is no better balanced interpretation of the man. However, the authors did not attempt to relate Vesalius' work to the general history of science or to the cultural history of the sixteenth century. For instance, they do not even mention that another great work in science-Copernicus' De revolutionibus orbium celestium-was also published in 1543. Each illustration is accompanied, usually on the opposite page, by a translation of Vesalius' caption and the authors' annotations. These annotations are well done, and it is evident that the authors have consulted the indices of the illustrations in making their annotations. By so doing they have been able to point out that some of the anatomical errors in the plates were corrected in the text and that other apparent errors were deliberate efforts to portray varying anatomical structure as found in man and lower forms. The authors have not translated Vesalius' indices to the plates "since the terminology employed is so archaic as to require, except for the expert in sixteenth-century medicine, interpretation of almost every term. . . . " And they are correct. However, the value of the translated captions and the annotations would have been greatly increased for those not having a good knowledge of human anatomy had the structures mentioned been identified by the index letters on the plates. Anyone using this work should know that the translated captions are from the second or 1555 edition of the Fabrica although this fact is apparently not mentioned by the authors. One must approve the choice of the 1555 captions over those of 1543 since the former present more completely Vesalius' knowledge of anatomy. The plates in this edition have been reduced by fifteen to twenty per cent but the reduction does not mar the beauty and detail of the originals. Indeed, this edition is most handsome. It is excellently designed and very well printed. Most important of all, the Vesalian illustrations with their captions and commentary are now widely available in a usable form. FREDERICK G. KILGOUR