Prior to the Founding of the Association of Medical Illustrators

For over 2000 years artists have illustrated the intricate structure of the body, creating images to elucidate medical procedures and record the pathologies of the body. These illustrations have often endured long after the text of a tome.

Medical illustration created for instruction first appeared in Hellenic Alexandria during the 4th century BC or early 3rd century BC. Created on individual sheets of papyrus, Hellenic illustration covered anatomy, surgery, obstetrics and plants of medical value.

Early anatomic illustration centered on the five-figure series, with each figure representing an organ system diagrammed within a body in a squatting pose, limbs splayed. In contrast, surgical illustrations were more naturalistic covering a wide range of medical procedures.

Renaissance

Progress accelerated during the Renaissance with many innovations. Artists inspired by Greek and Roman statues created naturalistic representations of the human figure aided by the discovery of the laws of perspective and their own dissections of cadavers. The five-figure series gave way to more accurate representations of anatomy. Graceful anatomical figures were often posed dramatically in landscapes amid bits of classical architecture in startling contrast to the bare backgrounds of earlier and later illustrations.

The Renaissance gave us Leonardo da Vinci, the first medical illustrator in the contemporary sense. Stunningly inventive, he melded a scientific understanding of anatomy with great artistic skill. Leonardo pursued his own anatomy book, and pioneered the use of cross sections and exploded views. Lacking the temperament and resources to publish his work, Leonardo's 800 anatomical drawings remained unpublished until the 1800's.