Page 11 - The Netter Collection of Medical Illustrations - Integumentary System_ Volume 4 ( PDFDrive )

more to medical education than most of the world’s the whole of medicine. “My field covers everything. I
anatomy professors taken together.” must be a specialist in every specialty; I must be able to
Dr. Netter’s career has spanned the most revolution- talk with all physicians on their own terms. I probably
ary half-century in medicine’s history. He chronicled do more studying than anyone else in the world,”
the emergence of open heart surgery, organ transplants, he said.
and joint replacements. To learn first hand about a In his work, Dr. Netter made pencil sketches, which
variety of diseases and their effects on the body, Dr. he then copied, transferred, and painted to portray
Netter traveled widely. In the early 1980s, Dr. William gross anatomy, microscopic anatomy, radiographic
Devries asked Netter to be present at the first artificial images, and drawings of patients. “I try to depict living
heart transplant, a procedure that Netter illustrated in patients whenever possible,” Dr. Netter said. “After all,
full detail. Dr. Netter also developed a variety of physicians do see patients, and we must remember we
unusual medical art projects, including building the are treating whole human beings.”
7-foot Transparent Woman for the San Francisco Golden Into his eighth decade, Dr. Netter continued to
Gate Exposition, which depicted the menstrual process, create his medical illustrations and added to the port-
the development and birth of a baby, and the physical folio of thousands of drawings that encompass his long
and sexual development of a woman. and illustrious career. Dr. Netter died in 1991, but his
When asked whether he regretted giving up his sur- work lives on in books and electronic products that
gical practice, Dr. Netter replied that he thought of continue to educate millions of health care profession-
himself as a clinician with a specialty that encompasses als worldwide.

THE NETTER COLLECTION OF MEDICAL ILLUSTRATIONS ix