The Art of Animal Anatomy: All Life is Here, Dissected and Depicted

Description

Discover the inner workings of an animal's anatomy with this beautiful guide, featuring historical illustrations and lyrical descriptions of the animal body. Have you ever wondered what beats beneath an animal's skin? Well, you wouldn't be the first one. The study of comparative anatomy has led to some of the most striking images ever created. For two-and-a-half thousand years, the animal body has been picked apart to drive arguments in natural philosophy, to reinforce dogma, to remind us of death, to horrify, educate and enthral. This book recounts the intertwined intellectual and artistic journeys of comparative anatomy from antiquity to the present day. Rather than offering an exhaustive listing, it focuses on the distinctive artistic flavours of five great phases of anatomical endeavour. Horses opened like books, the leer of a shark's eye, the humming loom of the brain - all life is here, dissected and depicted. Lyrically written and accompanied by captivating illustrations from history's animal anatomists, this is an ideal read for designers, art lovers and scientists alike.

David Bainbridge is the University Clinical Veterinary Anatomist at the University of Cambridge, a reproductive biologist, and a popular science writer. As well as many academic and clinical papers and book chapters, he has written six popular science books, all widely reviewed, discussed, and translated. These include A Visitor Within: The science of pregnancy, Beyond the Zonules of Zinn: A fantastic journey through your brain, Teenagers: A natural history, and Curvology: The origins and power of female body shape.

the artwork itself is wonderfully reproduced on matte paper in numerous half- and full-page images, as well as full-page spreads [...] far from being gory or gruesome, contains fantastic imagery spanning a wide span of time. It contains many works well-known to most biologists, but will undoubtedly introduce you to new and unknown artworks. [...] And it makes a sure-fire gift for that person in your life who loves the interface of biology and art. * The Inquisitive Biologist *