Medical illustrator
Encyclopedia
A medical illustrator is a professional artist who interprets and creates visual material to help record and disseminate medical, biological and related knowledge. Medical illustrators not only produce such material but can also function as consultants and administrators within the field of biocommunication
. A certified medical illustrator continues to obtain extensive training in medicine
, science
, and art
techniques throughout his or her career.
Medical illustrators create medical illustrations using traditional and digital techniques which can appear in medical textbooks, medical advertisements, professional journals, instructional videotapes and films, animations, web-based media, computer-assisted learning programs, exhibits, lecture presentations, general magazines and television. Although much medical illustration is designed for print or presentation media, medical illustrators also work in three dimensions, creating anatomical teaching models, patient simulators
, and facial prosthetics.
) rather than direct observation, and the representation of internal structures can be fanciful. An early high-water mark was the 1542 CE publication of Andreas Vesalius's De Humani Corporis Fabrica
Libri Septum, which contained more than 600 exquisite woodcut illustrations based on careful observation of human dissection.
As a profession, medical illustration has a more recent history. In the late 1890s, Max Brödel
, a talented artist from Leipzig
, was brought to The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
in Baltimore to illustrate for Harvey Cushing
, William Halstead
, Howard Kelly
, and other notable clinicians. In addition to being an extraordinary artist, he created new techniques, such as carbon dust
, that were especially suitable to his subject matter and then-current printing technologies. In 1911 he presided over the creation of the first academic department of medical illustration, which continues to this day. His graduates spread out across the world, and founded a number of the academic programs listed below under "Education".
Notable medical illustrators include Max Brödel
and Dr. Frank H. Netter
.
Medical illustration is used in the history of medicine
.
The traditional tools of medical illustration are slowly being replaced and supplemented by a range of unique modern artistic practices. Three-dimensional renders and endoscopic cameras are replacing carbon dust and cadavers. These changes in the practice of Medical Animation are reflected most prominently in the works of Bruce Blausen--a 1987 graduate of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and notable medical animator whose thesis broke new ground in three-dimensional representations of the heart.
is an international organization founded in 1945, and incorporated in Illinois. Its members are primarily artists who create material designed to facilitate the recording and dissemination of medical and bioscientific knowledge through visual communication media. Members are involved not only in the creation of such material, but also serve in consultant, advisory, educational and administrative capacities in all aspects of bioscientific communications and related areas of visual education.
The professional objectives of the AMI are to promote the study and advancement of medical illustration and allied fields of visual communication, and to promote understanding and cooperation with the medical profession and related health science professions.
The AMI publishes an annual Medical Illustration Source Book which is distributed to creative and marketing professionals that regularly hire medical/scientific image makers for editorial, publishing, educational and advertising projects. There is a companion Source Book with searchable illustration, animation and multimedia portfolios from hundreds of artists in the field.
is a sponsor member of CAAHEP (Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs), the organization that grants accreditation to the graduate programs in medical illustration upon recommendation of ARC-MI (Accreditation Review Committee for the Medical Illustrator) which is a standing committee of the AMI and a Committee on Accreditation of CAAHEP. Currently there are five accredited Programs in North America:
The Department of Art as Applied to Medicine on the East Baltimore Campus of the world famous Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
was the first program of its kind in the world. Endowed in 1911, the program has been in existence for over 90 years. In 1959, the Johns Hopkins University
approved a two-year graduate program leading to the University-wide degree of Master of Arts in Medical and Biological Illustration. The academic calendar, faculty and student affairs are administered by The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. The program has been fully accredited since 1970, currently accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs
(CAAHEP). The current Chair and Director of the program is Gary P. Lees, MS, CMI.
The Medical Illustration Graduate Program of the Medical College of Georgia
, Augusta is fully accredited by (CAAHEP). Graduates receive a Master of Science in Medical Illustration. The first Master of Science degree in Medical Illustration at MCG was awarded in 1951. The program emphasizes anatomical and surgical illustration for print and electronic publication, as well as for projection and broadcast distribution. Because of the importance of good drawing skills, the students learn a variety of traditional illustration techniques during the first year. In addition, computer technologies and digital techniques, used to prepare both vector and raster images for print and motion media, are well and extensively integrated into the curriculum.
The Biomedical Communications Program at the University of Toronto
. This program was begun in 1945 by Maria Wishart, a student of Max Brödel
's. Faculty and graduates of the program contributed the drawings for Grant's Atlas of Anatomy, a renowned guide to dissection, structure, and function for medical students. The current two-year professional Master's program, offered through the Institute of Medical Science, emphasizes a research-based approach to the creation and evaluation of visual material for health promotion, medical education, and the process of scientific discovery.
The Biomedical Communication Graduate Program at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
at Dallas. The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center was the first school in the world to offer a graduate degree in medical illustration in 1945. Lewis Boyd Waters, who studied under Max Brodel at Johns Hopkins in the 1920s, was a founding member of the medical school and was responsible for starting the master's program. Professor Waters died in 1969 and was later succeeded by several of his students who continued and expanded the program. The current program is offered through the Department of Biomedical Communications, and courses are taught by faculty of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Southwestern Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Southwestern Allied Health Sciences School. The program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs. It is designed to be an interdisciplinary program that provides opportunities for development of the skills and knowledge needed in the application of communications arts and technology to the health sciences.
The Biomedical Visualization Program at the University of Illinois at Chicago's College of Applied Health Sciences is the second oldest school of medical illustration in the western hemisphere, founded in 1921 by Thomas Smith Jones (Jones also was co-founder of the Association of Medical Illustrators
). The UIC program is located in the national healthcare and pharmaceutical hub of Chicago, and offers a market-based curriculum that includes the highest ends of technology (including the renowned Virtual Reality Medical Laboratory and a rigorous animation curriculum). Biomedical Visualization is located on the UIC Medical Center campus, home of the largest medical school in the United States. The UIC program blends the more traditional aspects of medical illustration and the emerging markets of digital, pharmaceutical, and "edutainment" industries. UIC also offers an extensive study in the field of anaplatology (facial and somatic prosthetics), medical sculpture, and an international internship program is available. A two-year Master of Science (MS) in Biomedical Visualization degree is awarded, and the program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP).
Biocommunication (science)
In the study of the biological sciences the general term biocommunication is used to describe more specific types of communication within or between species of plants, animals, fungi and bacteria. Communication means sign-mediated interactions following syntactic, pragmatic and semantic rules....
. A certified medical illustrator continues to obtain extensive training in medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
, science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
, and art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
techniques throughout his or her career.
Medical illustrators create medical illustrations using traditional and digital techniques which can appear in medical textbooks, medical advertisements, professional journals, instructional videotapes and films, animations, web-based media, computer-assisted learning programs, exhibits, lecture presentations, general magazines and television. Although much medical illustration is designed for print or presentation media, medical illustrators also work in three dimensions, creating anatomical teaching models, patient simulators
Virtual patient
The term virtual patient is used to describe interactive computer simulations used in health care education. The special focus is targeted on the simulation of clinical processes with virtual patients. Virtual patients combine scientific excellence, modern technologies and the innovative concept of...
, and facial prosthetics.
History
Medical illustrations have been made for hundreds (or thousands) of years; many illuminated manuscripts and Arabic scholarly treatises of the medieval period contained illustrations representing various anatomical systems (circulatory, nervous, urogenital), pathologies, or treatment methodologies. Many of these illustrations can look odd to modern eyes, since they reflect early reliance on classical scholarship (especially GalenGalen
Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus , better known as Galen of Pergamon , was a prominent Roman physician, surgeon and philosopher...
) rather than direct observation, and the representation of internal structures can be fanciful. An early high-water mark was the 1542 CE publication of Andreas Vesalius's De Humani Corporis Fabrica
De humani corporis fabrica
De humani corporis fabrica libri septem is a textbook of human anatomy written by Andreas Vesalius in 1543....
Libri Septum, which contained more than 600 exquisite woodcut illustrations based on careful observation of human dissection.
As a profession, medical illustration has a more recent history. In the late 1890s, Max Brödel
Max Brödel
Max Brödel was a medical illustrator. He was born in Germany, but eventually immigrated to the United States. In the late 1890s, he was brought to the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore to illustrate for Harvey Cushing, William Halsted, Howard Kelly, and other notable clinicians...
, a talented artist from Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
, was brought to The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine , located in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S., is the academic medical teaching and research arm of Johns Hopkins University. Hopkins has consistently been the nation's number one medical school in the amount of competitive research grants awarded by the National...
in Baltimore to illustrate for Harvey Cushing
Harvey Cushing
Harvey Williams Cushing, M.D. , was an American neurosurgeon and a pioneer of brain surgery, and the first to describe Cushing's syndrome...
, William Halstead
William Stewart Halsted
William Stewart Halsted was an American surgeon who emphasized strict aseptic technique during surgical procedures, was an early champion of newly discovered anesthetics, and introduced several new operations, including the radical mastectomy for breast cancer...
, Howard Kelly
Howard Atwood Kelly
Howard Atwood Kelly was an American gynecologist. He was one of the "Big Four" founding professors at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Howard Atwood Kelly (February 20, 1858 – January 12, 1943) was an American gynecologist. He was one of the "Big Four" founding professors at Johns Hopkins Hospital....
, and other notable clinicians. In addition to being an extraordinary artist, he created new techniques, such as carbon dust
Carbon dust
Popularized by Max Brödel, the carbon dust technique became widely used among medical and scientific illustrators in the twentieth century.The namesake of the technique consists of applying carbon dust, obtained by rubbing carbon pencils against an abrasive surface such as a metal file, to a...
, that were especially suitable to his subject matter and then-current printing technologies. In 1911 he presided over the creation of the first academic department of medical illustration, which continues to this day. His graduates spread out across the world, and founded a number of the academic programs listed below under "Education".
Notable medical illustrators include Max Brödel
Max Brödel
Max Brödel was a medical illustrator. He was born in Germany, but eventually immigrated to the United States. In the late 1890s, he was brought to the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore to illustrate for Harvey Cushing, William Halsted, Howard Kelly, and other notable clinicians...
and Dr. Frank H. Netter
Frank H. Netter
Frank H. Netter was an artist, physician, and most notably, a leading medical illustrator. He was also a Fellow of The New York Academy of Medicine.-Early life, training, and medical career:...
.
Medical illustration is used in the history of medicine
History of medicine
All human societies have medical beliefs that provide explanations for birth, death, and disease. Throughout history, illness has been attributed to witchcraft, demons, astral influence, or the will of the gods...
.
The traditional tools of medical illustration are slowly being replaced and supplemented by a range of unique modern artistic practices. Three-dimensional renders and endoscopic cameras are replacing carbon dust and cadavers. These changes in the practice of Medical Animation are reflected most prominently in the works of Bruce Blausen--a 1987 graduate of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and notable medical animator whose thesis broke new ground in three-dimensional representations of the heart.
Profession
The Association of Medical IllustratorsAssociation of Medical Illustrators
The Association of Medical Illustrators is an international organization founded in 1945, and incorporated in Illinois. Its members are primarily artists who create material designed to facilitate the recording and dissemination of medical and bioscientific knowledge through visual communication...
is an international organization founded in 1945, and incorporated in Illinois. Its members are primarily artists who create material designed to facilitate the recording and dissemination of medical and bioscientific knowledge through visual communication media. Members are involved not only in the creation of such material, but also serve in consultant, advisory, educational and administrative capacities in all aspects of bioscientific communications and related areas of visual education.
The professional objectives of the AMI are to promote the study and advancement of medical illustration and allied fields of visual communication, and to promote understanding and cooperation with the medical profession and related health science professions.
The AMI publishes an annual Medical Illustration Source Book which is distributed to creative and marketing professionals that regularly hire medical/scientific image makers for editorial, publishing, educational and advertising projects. There is a companion Source Book with searchable illustration, animation and multimedia portfolios from hundreds of artists in the field.
Education
Most medical illustrators in the profession have a Master's degree from an accredited graduate program in medical illustration or another advanced degree in either science or the arts. The Association of Medical IllustratorsAssociation of Medical Illustrators
The Association of Medical Illustrators is an international organization founded in 1945, and incorporated in Illinois. Its members are primarily artists who create material designed to facilitate the recording and dissemination of medical and bioscientific knowledge through visual communication...
is a sponsor member of CAAHEP (Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs), the organization that grants accreditation to the graduate programs in medical illustration upon recommendation of ARC-MI (Accreditation Review Committee for the Medical Illustrator) which is a standing committee of the AMI and a Committee on Accreditation of CAAHEP. Currently there are five accredited Programs in North America:
The Department of Art as Applied to Medicine on the East Baltimore Campus of the world famous Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine , located in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S., is the academic medical teaching and research arm of Johns Hopkins University. Hopkins has consistently been the nation's number one medical school in the amount of competitive research grants awarded by the National...
was the first program of its kind in the world. Endowed in 1911, the program has been in existence for over 90 years. In 1959, the Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
approved a two-year graduate program leading to the University-wide degree of Master of Arts in Medical and Biological Illustration. The academic calendar, faculty and student affairs are administered by The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. The program has been fully accredited since 1970, currently accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs
Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs
Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs, , is an agency of accreditation for the accredits postsecondary education programs in 19 different allied health and related fields....
(CAAHEP). The current Chair and Director of the program is Gary P. Lees, MS, CMI.
The Medical Illustration Graduate Program of the Medical College of Georgia
Medical College of Georgia
Georgia Health Sciences University formerly known as, and now home of the, Medical College of Georgia , is a public academic health center, with its main campus located in the Medical District of Augusta, Georgia. It is the smallest of four research universities in the University System of Georgia...
, Augusta is fully accredited by (CAAHEP). Graduates receive a Master of Science in Medical Illustration. The first Master of Science degree in Medical Illustration at MCG was awarded in 1951. The program emphasizes anatomical and surgical illustration for print and electronic publication, as well as for projection and broadcast distribution. Because of the importance of good drawing skills, the students learn a variety of traditional illustration techniques during the first year. In addition, computer technologies and digital techniques, used to prepare both vector and raster images for print and motion media, are well and extensively integrated into the curriculum.
The Biomedical Communications Program at the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
. This program was begun in 1945 by Maria Wishart, a student of Max Brödel
Max Brödel
Max Brödel was a medical illustrator. He was born in Germany, but eventually immigrated to the United States. In the late 1890s, he was brought to the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore to illustrate for Harvey Cushing, William Halsted, Howard Kelly, and other notable clinicians...
's. Faculty and graduates of the program contributed the drawings for Grant's Atlas of Anatomy, a renowned guide to dissection, structure, and function for medical students. The current two-year professional Master's program, offered through the Institute of Medical Science, emphasizes a research-based approach to the creation and evaluation of visual material for health promotion, medical education, and the process of scientific discovery.
The Biomedical Communication Graduate Program at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center is one of the biomedical research institutions of the University of Texas System, incorporating three degree-granting institutions, four affiliated hospitals, including Parkland Memorial, the teaching hospital, and biomedical research...
at Dallas. The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center was the first school in the world to offer a graduate degree in medical illustration in 1945. Lewis Boyd Waters, who studied under Max Brodel at Johns Hopkins in the 1920s, was a founding member of the medical school and was responsible for starting the master's program. Professor Waters died in 1969 and was later succeeded by several of his students who continued and expanded the program. The current program is offered through the Department of Biomedical Communications, and courses are taught by faculty of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Southwestern Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Southwestern Allied Health Sciences School. The program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs. It is designed to be an interdisciplinary program that provides opportunities for development of the skills and knowledge needed in the application of communications arts and technology to the health sciences.
The Biomedical Visualization Program at the University of Illinois at Chicago's College of Applied Health Sciences is the second oldest school of medical illustration in the western hemisphere, founded in 1921 by Thomas Smith Jones (Jones also was co-founder of the Association of Medical Illustrators
Association of Medical Illustrators
The Association of Medical Illustrators is an international organization founded in 1945, and incorporated in Illinois. Its members are primarily artists who create material designed to facilitate the recording and dissemination of medical and bioscientific knowledge through visual communication...
). The UIC program is located in the national healthcare and pharmaceutical hub of Chicago, and offers a market-based curriculum that includes the highest ends of technology (including the renowned Virtual Reality Medical Laboratory and a rigorous animation curriculum). Biomedical Visualization is located on the UIC Medical Center campus, home of the largest medical school in the United States. The UIC program blends the more traditional aspects of medical illustration and the emerging markets of digital, pharmaceutical, and "edutainment" industries. UIC also offers an extensive study in the field of anaplatology (facial and somatic prosthetics), medical sculpture, and an international internship program is available. A two-year Master of Science (MS) in Biomedical Visualization degree is awarded, and the program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP).
External links
- Medical Illustration Source Book
- Article about Medical Illustrators on mshealthcenteers
- A list of medical images and illustrations
- A Brief Essay on Anatomical Drawing by Hal Sharp
- http://www.worldcat.org/title/utilization-of-personal-computers-in-three-dimensional-reconstructions-application-to-the-cardiac-ventricles-of-the-human-embryo/oclc/81574394Thesis Abstract for Bruce Blausen}