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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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The lost influence of Andreas Vesalius on eponymic anatomy
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Andreas Vesalius Bruxellensis (1515-1564) is considered to be the father of modern anatomy, remembered because an illustrious life and by his book “De Humani Corporis Fabrica, Libri Septem” published first in 1543. Scores of books, translations, articles, and analyzes of his work have been published in the over 500 years since his birth. With such an incredible pedigree we would expect his name to be attached to more than a few anatomical structures, many of which were first described in his opus magnus, the “Fabrica”, I wonder why this is not so. It is true that modern anatomy is trying to move from eponyms to more descriptive anatomical terms. Still, there are many that will not go away, as is the famous ligament of Treitz, or the sphincter or Oddi. Today there is only one recorded eponym for Andreas Vesalius, the os vesalianum, a rare accessory bone in the foot located proximally to the base of the fifth metatarsal. It is usually asymptomatic, but in rare cases it can cause pain. It is formed by the failed fusion of the secondary ossification center of the fifth metatarsal. Reviewing history, I was able to find other references to Andreas Vesalius eponyms or potential eponyms, now in disuse or misnamed: |
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| - Suspensory ligaments of the mammary gland. Although first described by Vesalius in the Fabrica, these structures are named after Sir Astley Paston Cooper (1768 -1841), almost 300 years after being described by the great anatomist, who called them a “fleshy membrane” that stretched between the pectoral fascia and the skin.
- The vermiform appendix. Although called by many just “the appendix”, this structure is mentioned, but not named, by Jacobo Berengario da Carpi in 1524. It was Andreas Vesalius who first described it as an appendix, suggested it looked like a worm (Lat: vermis) calling it the “vermiform appendix”. - The ligamentum suspensorium Vesalii or crural arch. First described by Giovanni Baptista Morgagni (1682-1771), it was named in honor of Vesalius by Dr. Laurentii (Lorenz) Heisters in his “Compendium Anatomicum” published in 1756. Other authors point to Gabrielle Fallopius as the first to describe this structure in 1561, although he did publish later than Vesalius (1543). Although named after Vesalius, it was later named after Francois Poupart who described it in 1695. You probably know this structure as the inguinal ligament. -The ligamentum teres femoris. The round ligament of the femur was also first described by Vesalius in 1543. NOTE: If you have other structures that have been named after Vesalius, please let me know by clicking here. Sources: |
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