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Medical Terminology Daily (MTD) is a blog sponsored by Clinical Anatomy Associates, Inc. as a service to the medical community, medical students, and the medical industry. We post anatomical, medical or surgical terms, their meaning and usage, as well as biographical notes on anatomists, surgeons, and researchers through the ages. Be warned that some of the images used depict human anatomical specimens. Click on the link below to subscribe to the MTD newsletter. If you think an article could be interesting to somebody else, feel free to forward the link of the article. Should you want to use the information on the article, please follow the CAA, Inc Privacy and Security Statement found at the bottom of this page. You are welcome to submit questions and suggestions using our "Contact Us" form. The information on this blog follows the terms on our "Privacy and Security Statement" and cannot be construed as medical guidance or instructions for treatment. |
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Self-portrait, Henry Vandyke Carter, MD (Public Domain)
Henry Vandyke Carter, MD
(1831 – 1897)
English physician, surgeon, medical artist, and a pioneer in leprosy and mycetoma studies. HV Carter was born in Yorkshire in 1831. He was the son of Henry Barlow Carter, a well-known artist and it is possible that he honed his natural talents with his father. His mother picked his middle name after a famous painter, Anthony Van Dyck. This is probably why his name is sometimes shown as Henry Van Dyke Carter, although the most common presentation of his middle name is Vandyke.
Having problems to finance his medical studies, HV Carter trained as an apothecary and later as an anatomical demonstrator at St. George’s Hospital in London, where he met Henry Gray (1872-1861), who was at the time the anatomical lecturer. Having seen the quality of HV Carter’s drawings, Henry Gray teamed with him to produce one of the most popular and longer-lived anatomy books in history: “Gray’s Anatomy”, which was first published in late 1857. The book itself, about which many papers have been written, was immediately accepted and praised because of the clarity of the text as well as the incredible drawings of Henry Vandyke Carter.
While working on the book’s drawings, HV Carter continued his studies and received his MD in 1856.
In spite of initially being offered a co-authorship of the book, Dr. Carter was relegated to the position of illustrator by Henry Gray and never saw the royalties that the book could have generated for him. For all his work and dedication, Dr. Carter only received a one-time payment of 150 pounds. Dr. Carter never worked again with Gray, who died of smallpox only a few years later.
Frustrated, Dr. Carter took the exams for the India Medical Service. In 1858 he joined as an Assistant Surgeon and later became a professor of anatomy and physiology. Even later he served as a Civil Surgeon. During his tenure with the India Medical Service he attained the ranks of Surgeon, Surgeon-Major, Surgeon-Lieutenant-Colonel, and Brigade-Surgeon.
Dr. Carter dedicated the rest of his life to the study of leprosy, and other ailments typical of India at that time. He held several important offices, including that of Dean of the Medical School of the University of Bombay. In 1890, after his retirement, he was appointed Honorary Physician to the Queen.
Dr. Henry Vandyke Carter died of tuberculosis in 1897.
Personal note: Had history been different, this famous book would have been called “Gray and Carter’s Anatomy” and Dr. Carter never gone to India. His legacy is still seen in the images of the thousands of copies of “Gray’s Anatomy” throughout the world and the many reproductions of his work available on the Internet. We are proud to use some of his images in this blog. The image accompanying this article is a self-portrait of Dr. Carter. Click on the image for a larger depiction. Dr. Miranda
Sources:
1. “Obituary: Henry Vandyke Carter” Br Med J (1897);1:1256-7
2. “The Anatomist: A True Story of ‘Gray’s Anatomy” Hayes W. (2007) USA: Ballantine
3. “A Glimpse of Our Past: Henry Gray’s Anatomy” Pearce, JMS. J Clin Anat (2009) 22:291–295
4. “Henry Gray and Henry Vandyke Carter: Creators of a famous textbook” Roberts S. J Med Biogr (2000) 8:206–212.
5. “Henry Vandyke Carter and his meritorious works in India” Tappa, DM et al. Indian J Dermatol Venereol Leprol (2011) 77:101-3
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Raymond de Vieussens
This article is part of the series "A Moment in History" where we honor those who have contributed to the growth of medical knowledge in the areas of anatomy, medicine, surgery, and medical research.To search all the articles in this series, click here. |
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Raymond de Vieussens (c.1635 – 1715). French anatomist and physician. His exact date and place of birth are uncertain, some place him being born in the area of Le Vigan in France and the date for some authors as late as 1641. What we do know is that he studied at the University of Montpellier where he graduated from his medical studies in 1670. He became a physician at the Hôtel Dieu Saint-Eloi in Montpellier. He later became head physician at the same hospital and apparently maintained this position for the rest of his life. His studies on the anatomy of the heart and lymphatic system were pioneers for the time, as were his studies on the anatomy of the nervous system. Vieussens was a prolific writer. Among his works in 1706, he published “Nouvelles Découvertes sur le Coeur” (New Discoveries on the Heart) followed by “Traité Nouveau de la Structure et Des causes du Mouvement Naturel du Coeur” (New Treaties on the Structure and Cause of the Natural Movement of the Heart) in 1715. In these books he presented detailed anatomy of the lymphatic system and blood vessels of the heart, as well as his theories on the movement of the heart. In his work, he did the first accurate description of mitral stenosis and aortic disease. |
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| One of his greatest works was “Neurographia Universalis”, published in 1684 in Lyons, France. In this book Vieussens describes the structure of the nervous system with emphasis on the pathways of the white substance, which we know today is formed by bundles of neuronal axons. He accurately described the internal structure of the cerebellum and other structures that today bear his name. Unfortunately Vieussens attempted to describe the physiology of the brain with little factual support, developing wild theories, including the statement that he had found the “fluid of the nerves”.
Some of Vieussens’ work was published posthumously by his family and colleagues. Today, many eponyms remember Vieussens’ name, here are some of them: • Valve of Vieussens: A valve found at the distal end of the great cardiac vein, where it empties into the coronary sinus If you hover with your mouse over the image of young Vieussens you will see another image of Vieussens at 65. Original images courtesy of National Library of Medicine. |
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