Vesalius: The Illustrations from His Works - Hardcover

The present work by Andreas Vesalius has been long regarded as a monument in the history of medical science and art. 'The 'De Humani Corporis Fabrica' constitutes 'one of the greatest treasures of Western civilization and culture. This masterpiece, and its companion volume the 'Epitome' established with startling suddenness the beginning of modern observational science and research. In it, illustration, text and typography blend to achieve an unsurpassed work of creative art; the embodiment of the spirit of the Renaissance directed toward the future with new meaning.

Andreas Vesalius was born in Brussels in 1514. He came from a long line of physicians, both his father and grandfather serving royalty, and entered the University of Louvain where he studied the Galenical theory of anatomy. As he began to perform his own dissections, however, he discovered errors in Galen's work. He eventually published his new findings in the 'De Humani Corporis Fabrica of 1543."

The illustrations are accompanied by scholarly translations from the original Latin of Vesalius, together with annotations and discussion by the translators. In the Introduction, Drs. Saunders and O'Malley examine and discuss thoroughly the questions and legends which have arisen regarding the illustrations, the artists, and the work itself, and they give as much information as is known about Vesalius and his great career.