The College of Physicians of Philadelphia Digital Library

A composition of five fetal skeletons

About This Item

Title

A composition of five fetal skeletons

Subject

Fetus--anatomy & histology
Skeleton
Bone and Bones--embryology
Book Illustrations

Description

Engraved by C. Huyberts from a specimen by Frederik Ruysch.
A composition of five fetal skeletons standing on a rock formation made of kidney, bladder, and gall stones, with vascular trees. The uppermost skeleton plays a violin with a bow made of dried arteries. The skeleton on the left has a feather plume coming out of the top of its skull, and the larger skeleton on the right has sheep intestine wound about its pelvis and holds a spear made of adult vas deferens. The smaller skeleton on the right holds a baton set with kidney stones. The skeleton at the bottom lays on its back and holds a mayfly in its right hand.--Cf. Rifkin, B. Human anatomy, p. 41.
Title supplied by cataloger.

Creator

Huyberts, Cornelis
Ruysch, Frederik, 1638-1731

Source

Thesaurus Anatomicus, a 10-part work first published from 1701 to 1716, is a catalog of Frederik Ruysch's unusual anatomical collection. Illustrated with over 40 plates, engraved by Joseph Mulder and Cornelis Huyberts, Ruysch's collection contains odd assemblages of primarily human anatomical specimens, some of which he composed with the help of his daughter, the painter, Rachel Ruysch. In addition to the curiosities that he contributed to the science of anatomy, Ruysch also advanced techniques in dissection and embalming.

Publisher

Digitized by the Historical Medical Library of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia

Date

1703

Language

lat
dut

Type

StillImage

Identifier

Af_37_v1.pam7.tab1

Original Format

1 print : engraving

Physical Dimensions

38 x 33 cm

Citation

Huyberts, Cornelis and Ruysch, Frederik, 1638-1731, “A composition of five fetal skeletons,” The College of Physicians of Philadelphia Digital Library, accessed April 30, 2024, https://cppdigitallibrary.org/items/show/1511.