Fasciculus Medicinae is considered the first printed illustrated medical book. It was published in 1491 by a printing company in Venice. The author of the book is Johannes de Ketham. The book is a compliation of multiple essays written about clinical medicine. 8 subjects are discussed in Fasciculus Medicinae: urine and uroscopy, phlebotomy, judgements of the veins, phlebotomy based on the zodiac, women’s health, surgery, and anatomy. The book contains six woodcut illustrations. The first edition of the book was in Latin and a second edition was translated into Italian and then into vernacular Italian in 1493. Leonardo Da Vinci used the Italian edition of Fasciculus Medicinae as a guid during his dissections and as a source of medical knowledge. Fasciculus Medicinae would be further edited through time to improve illustrations and organization. In addition to this more essays and four new illustrations would be added.

Source:

Dimaio, Salvatore, Federico Discepola, Rolando F. Del Maestro. Il Fasciculo Di Medicina of 1493: Medical Culture Through the Eyes of the Artist. Neurosurgery 2006, 58:187-196. DOI:10.1227/01.NEU.0000192382.37787.80. Accessed March 8, 2018.

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