“…the frame of man's body, and coherence of his parts…”

Abstract

Edward Herbert (later 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury) (c.1582-1648) (Fig. 1) has said, “Whoever considers the study of anatomy, I believe will never be an atheist; the frame of man's body, and coherence of his parts, being so strange and paradoxical, that I hold it to be the greatest miracle of nature.” Such a profound statement still resonates some four centuries after Herbert's death. Herbert was born near Wroxeter, Shropshire and was a poet, writer, knight, philosopher, historian, diplomate, and deist. He attended University College, Oxford and was friends with such noteworthy men as Ben Jonson, John, Donne, Issac Casaubon, and the Prince of Orange. He was made sheriff of Montgomeryshire in 1605. This special issue of Clinical Anatomy is devoted to the anatomy of infants and adolescents. Dr. Ali Mirjalili from the University of Auckland has orchestrated an international team of authors who have written on topics including pediatric central venous line placement, differential growth of the abdominal aorta and vertebrae, anatomy of a tongue tie, age-related changes in the inguinal region, pediatric regional anesthesia and a predictive modeling study of the ischiopubic synchondrosis. These studies remind us of the everchanging frame of man's body.