An Artist Who Vastly Enriched Medical Education: Frank H. Netter

Abstract

I have repeatedly discussed in these articles how issues related to science were addressed and interpreted by artists in their works, but then there are the artists who devote their time to direct visualization of the concepts of science. They are the medical and scientific illustrators. Like designers in industry, they are often—and wrongly—categorized as “backroom persons.” Yet, they have made a major contribution to the creation of an entire biological aesthetic (1) and thus have helped both the science community and the wider public conceptualize the subcellular molecular world. Journals such as Nature and The New England Journal of Medicine have evolved their own distinctive styles of visual presentation. The people behind these efforts, like the medieval cathedral builders, often remain anonymous or are mentioned only in some small-print credit lines. There was, however, a medical illustrator whose style of presentation became as important to his readers as the scientific message. His name was Dr. Frank Netter (1906–1991) (2, 3). Netter was a trained surgeon but would probably be better described as an artist temporarily “distracted” into medical practice, the experience of which subsequently enhanced his art. He practiced medical illustration from the late 1930s until the end of his life. He has been …