The 1555 copy of Andreas Vesalius’ De Humani Corporis Fabrica is perhaps the most important book held by RCSI Library. Just over one hundred copies of this work are known to exist worldwide and RCSI holds the only known copy in Ireland. It is considered a masterpiece in the fields of both anatomy and art. It is 500 years since the birth of Andreas Vesalius one of the greatest anatomists and dissectors of the medical world. BBC4 recently ran a series on TV called The Beauty of Anatomy which features a different anatomist for each of its 5 episodes. One of these anatomists was none other than the great Vesalius. Engraving by Tintoretto of Vesalius c1540 Vesalius was born in Brussels on 31 December 1514. He started his medical studies in the University of Paris in 1533 where he learned the art of dissection. In 1538 he had moved to the University of Padua where he received his M.D. and was appointed a lecturer in anatomy. It was here that...