Objective:

To review and compare the neuroanatomical illustrations of Guido da Vigevano, Leonardo da Vinci, and Frank H. Netter MD.   

Background:

Early studies of human anatomy focused on the anatomy of animals despite early anatomists dissecting cadavers around the 3rd century B.C. In 1345 Guido da Vigevano produced Anathomia, containing the earliest neuroanatomical artistic renderings. It featured six neuroanatomical plates which served as an inspiration for polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci during the Renaissance. In the modern day, the name synonymous with medical illustration is Frank H. Netter MD. The CIBA collection of Medical Illustrations (1948) contains many of his neuroanatomical illustrations in 2 parts. 

Design/Methods:

To complete a historical review using PubMED, Google Scholar, and JStor.  

Results:

In Anathomia (1345), plate 16 depicts the spinal cord showing bilateral spinal nerve origins (only 18), passing through vertebral foramina to reach the body. The image is simple, and devoid of color. The caption notes that these structures give sensation and motion to the whole body. Da Vinci’s is the first to accurately delineate the human spine and represent it topographically from multiple angles in cross-section. He also stated the spinal cord was involved in control of movement and to some degree modulation of bodily function via novel experiments. The CIBA collection of Medical Illustrations (1948), plate 2-1, Spinal Cord in Situ, elegantly depicts the intricacies of the cord and the 31 pairs of spinal nerves, the meninges, and relative bony landmarks. Respectively, each work is increasing with realism. Overall, each of them similarly provided the reader with instructional visualization of neuroanatomy. 

Conclusions:

This historical comparison of the work of Guido da Vigevano, Leonardo da Vinci, and Frank H Netter MD, highlights the importance of intellectual curiosity and desire for innovation. Their works have provided the field of neurology with beautifully depicted neuroanatomy to promote education.