I.—The Portal System and the Organs of Generation;
II.—The Venae Cavae and Chief Veins;
III.—The Great Artery—Arteria Magna—and the Heart;
IV.—The Skeleton in its Anterior View;
V.—The Skeleton in its Side View;
VI.—The Skeleton in its Posterior View.
The plates are of large dimensions, measuring over sixteen inches in
length, and were cut in wood. Like those in the _Fabrica_, they were
made in Italy. Owing to their transient use by medical students, the
_Tabulae_ were soon destroyed, although unauthorized editions were
printed in several cities. The book was dedicated to Narcissus of
Parthenope (Narciso Verdunno, or Vertuneo) who, in 1520, was first
physician to the crown of Naples, and later, in 1524, was physician and
councilor to Charles the Fifth. It is noteworthy that three of these
plates deal with the skeleton, a subject to which Vesalius had given
much attention. The absence of a plate showing the nervous system is
also to be noted. Vesalius had such a plate prepared, and it appeared in
a pirated edition of the _Tabulae_ which was published at Cologne in
1539. The large size of these plates, their fidelity to nature, and the
skill with which they were cut in wood, were features which showed to
the world that a real master of anatomy had been born. The original
drawings were made by Jan Stephan van Calcar, who probably also was the
engraver.
Only two copies of the _Tabulae Anatomicae_ are known. A fine edition of
these plates, reproduced by photography, was privately issued in 1874 by
Sir William Stirling-Maxwell, the talented author of the _Annals of the
Artists of Spain_.
[Illustration: VIEW OF THE CITY OF BASEL IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY]
CHAPTER NINTH
Publication of the Fabrica
[Illustration: Illuminated capital]
On the first day of August, 1542, after three years of strenuous labor,
Vesalius completed the _Fabrica_, and twelve days later he wrote the
last word of the _Epitome_. The blocks for the _Fabrica_, and also those
for the _Epitome_, were made in Italy. In the summer of 1542 they were
conveyed to Basel by a merchant named Danoni and were safely delivered
to the printer, Oporinus. They were accompanied by a long Latin letter,
written by Vesalius to his friend, “Joannes Oporinus, professor of Greek
letters in Basel”. He begs Oporinus to take the greatest care that the
printed illustrations shall correspond with the proofs which accompany
the blocks. “Every detail must be distinctly visible, so that each cut
shall have the effect of a picture”. Early in the following year
Vesalius went to Basel to superintend the printing of his books. While
there, he conducted a demonstration in anatomy—the first which had
occurred in that city since 1531—and presented the articulated skeleton
of the subject to the University. Part of this skeleton exists today. It
is thought to be the oldest anatomical preparation in existence.