34 



BIOLOGY AND ITS MAKERS 





it an artistic pose, as is shown in Fig. 6, but nevertheless the 

 bones are well drawn. No plates of equal merit had ap- 

 peared before these; in fact, they are the earliest generally 



known drawings in anatomy, al- 

 though woodcuts representing 

 anatomical figures were pub 

 lished as early as 149 1 by John 

 Ketham. Ketham's figures 

 showed only externals and pre- 

 parations for opening the body, 

 but rude woodcuts representing 

 internal anatomy and the hu- 

 man skeleton had been pub 

 lished notably by Magnus 

 Hundt, 1 501; Phrysen, 15 18; 

 and Berengarius, 152 1 and 

 1523. Leonardo da Vinci and 

 other artists had also executed 

 anatomical drawings before the 

 time of Vesalius. 



Previous to the publication 

 of the complete work, Vesalius, 

 in 1538, had published six tables 

 of anatomy, and, in 1555, he 

 brought out a new edition of the 

 Fabrica, with slight additions, 

 especially in reference to physi- 

 ology, which will be adverted to 

 in the chapter on Harvey. 



In the original edition of 1543 

 the illustrations are not col- 

 lected in the form of plates, but 

 are distributed through the text, 

 the larger ones making full-pagt 



Fig. 7. — Initial letters from 

 Vesalius's Fabrica of 1543. 



