Between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, the study of human anatomy was transformed by the printed image. Long before modern medical technologies allowed physicians to look inside the body, anatomical knowledge depended on careful observation through dissection and on the ability to record those observations visually. With the rise of printing, woodcut and engraved illustrations became essential tools for studying and communicating the structure of the human body.

The works in this exhibition trace the development of anatomical illustration during this formative period. Early printed anatomical texts, such as the work of Johann Dryander, reflect a moment of transition when traditional medical knowledge began to intersect with new methods of observation. Only a few years later, the publications of Andreas Vesalius revolutionized the study of anatomy by grounding it in what could be directly seen during dissection. His richly detailed illustrations established a new visual language for representing the body.

Later authors expanded and refined this approach. Anatomists such as Juan Valverde de Amusco and Pieter Paaw adapted Vesalian methods to focus on specific structures of the body, while eighteenth-century physicians like Samuel Thomas von Sömmerring applied anatomical illustration to new medical questions. Together, these works show how artists, printers, and physicians collaborated to make the invisible structures of the human body visible.

Several of the works featured in this exhibition are among the most rare and fragile volumes in the collections of the Texas Medical Center Library. Books such as Georg Bartisch’s Ophthalmodouleia: Das ist Augendienst (1583) and Andreas Vesalius’s Anatomia (1617) are not only historically significant, but also highly sensitive to light, temperature, and environmental conditions.

Prolonged exposure to light—especially ultraviolet (UV) radiation—can cause irreversible damage to paper, ink, and bindings. To preserve these materials for future generations while still providing meaningful public access, select volumes will be displayed for a limited time only.

Visitors are encouraged to view these works during their initial installation period, after which they will be rotated off display in accordance with preservation best practices. For additional questions about this collection, contact an archivist at 713-799-7145 or mcgovern@library.tmc.edu