Anatomy, Descriptive and Surgical

Gray’s Anatomy continuous run of 41 editions is testament to significance of this book when it was first published in England in 1858 and the confluence of the unique talents of its author Henry Gray (1827-1861) and illustrator Henry Vandyke Carter (1831-1897). Gray a native of London and known for his slow and methodical method of research and dissection, had taken an early interest in anatomy, and received almost immediate recognition of his talents and abilities. He was elected to the Royal Society at the early age of 25. Carter, a native of Yorkshire and a son of a painter, also had a talent for medicine and anatomy, but it was his keen skill as a draftsman and illustrator that gave rise to his career in anatomy and an invitation by Gray to collaborate on preparing an anatomy for the use of students. Like Vesalius’s landmark book published over 300 years earlier, Gray and Carter’s work is also based upon direct observation and research of anatomical material which was provided by their association with St. George’s Hospital, in London. While Carter enjoyed the satisfaction, benefit and fame associated with multiple editions of the work he had illustrated, sadly Gray only lived to see a second edition of the work that bears his name, dying in London of smallpox at the young age of 34