Just about everybody has heard of Vesalius, but who has heard of Oporinus? Oporinus is the printmaker who published Vesalius's anatomy book, which as we all know was the first attempt at an accurate representation of human mechanics. Previously anatomy lessons for physicians consisted of once a year watching someone from a great distance pulling the organs out of a deceased convict. As to the medical texts prior to Vesalius's and Oporinus's De humani corporis fabrica (1543), they largely consisted of globular red and brown shapes mostly indistinguishable from each other. (Prints and People: A Social History) As wiki will tell you Oporinus also published the first Latin Koran, which garnered massive protests at the time and was only permitted because of Martin Luther's backing. Shown above was his printer's device.
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