Leonardo da Vinci drew the Vitruvian Man after the inspiration of architect Vitruvius in order to demonstrate the "perfect" proportions of man. The male anatomy in separate positions superimposes exactly on both a circle and a square.

the skeletal system

the muscular system

principal arteries and organs of the female

Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564) brought medicine into the modern era with his monumental work De humani corporis fabrica libri septem (1543), now considered one of the greatest books in the history of medicine and science. Vesalius took that first great step away from the dogma that had strangled scientific investigation for centuries when he discarded all of Galen’s previously held “truths” and based his anatomic investigations on what he himself observed with his own careful dissections. This is a self-portrait from the first edition.

the title page

the skeletal system

the muscular system

a cross section of the brain