The Eyes Have It

“Dr. Kelly was a surgery resident at Mayo from 1949 to 1953 before practicing in Sioux City, Iowa as a general surgeon. As an extension of his interest in surgery, he developed over the course of several decades a book collection which represents four centuries of the history of anatomical illustration.

The books selected from his gift for display highlight the changes in both the formats and techniques employed in the dissemination of anatomical information. While there is evidence that the Greeks practiced human dissection as early as 300 B.C, scribes made errors in copying the illustrations done from these investigations. It was not until the invention of the printing press in the fifteenth century that anatomical findings were documented and shared on a widespread basis.“