PNCA Fine Art Library

Medical Images

The majority of these image databases are for the education of medical students, though some of the databases have images for patient education.

This means that many of them as structured to be searched by people who understand the technology of the image making (stains, micrographs, tomographs) and who have a basic understanding of anatomy and physiology as well as, for the more specialized databases (dermatology, embryology, etc.) more specialized knowledge.

The fact that these images are presented in the context of teaching people to recognize and know so as to be able to understand and treat also has implications in terms of finding and “reading” them. Some of the images in some of the databases may be disturbing; please respect the suffering, sacrifice, and non-voyeuristic intent inherent in their production.

If you are having trouble finding an image, please talk to your friendly reference librarian.

General Medical Images

Histology-world! Here is a wealth of images of different types of cells (mostly human) taken with a wide variety of techniques- many of them art forms in their own right. It’s fascinating to wander through.

Public Health Image Library provides searchable database of photographs, micrographs, illustrations, multimedia files, etc. relating to public health. Could be considered an eclectic set of images. Most of the images in the collection are in the public domain and are thus free of any copyright restrictions. PHIL asks that you credit the original institution and contributor whenever the image is used in publicly distributed media.

National Cancer Institute Visual Online A somewhat odd collection of images. Includes pictures of food, mammograms, technology, and anatomical illustrations. Use the browse feature to get a sense of the images available. All images are in the public domain and may be used, linked, or reproduced without permission. If an image is used, credit should be given to the listed source.

Historical Medical Images

Dream Anatomy was created to support an exhibition at the National Library of Medicine. Shows off creations of the anatomical imagination from 1500 to the present.

Gray’s Anatomy of the Human Body This Bartleby.com edition of Gray’s Anatomy of the Human Body features 1,247 engravings—many in color—from the classic 1918 publication.

Historical Anatomies on the Web A digital project designed to give access to high quality images from important anatomical atlases in the National Library of Medicine’s collection. Images chosen primarily for their historical and artistic significance.

Images from the History of Medicine Database provides access to nearly 60,000 images in the prints and photograph collection of the History of Medicine Division of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Includes portraits, pictures of institutions, caricatures, and graphic art illustrating the social and historical aspects of medicine.

Anatomy

Anatomy Atlases consists of the plates from different books of anatomy edited by Ronald A. Bergman. You may link to images but “you may not have permission to reproduce any text or images from this site in any print publication or on any Internet Web site or intranet Web site.”

The Visible Human Project Cross-sectional images, MRI’s and CT’s from the Visible Human Project selected for integration into the Structure of the Human Body curriculum at the Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. Images from the Visible Human Project-NLM are used under a license agreement to Dr. John.A. McNulty.

There are many other projects based on the Visible Human Data Set, including some interesting work on volume manipulation from Rutgers University.

Digital Anatomist Project Interactive Atlases. Arranged by structure (brain, neuroanatomy, thoracic region, knee) Includes illustrations (some with labels), photographs of anatomical cross sections, MRI scans, and x-rays. Copyright University of Washington; free for non-commercial use with attribution

Skeletal System

Living Skeleton. A series of xray images of the human skeleton. Images are made available for non-commercial, educational use for teachers and students. The copying or redistribution of these images and text in any manner for personal or corporate gain is prohibited. Changes or alterations in text or images is prohibited.

The eSkeleton’s Project is devoted to the study of human and primate comparative anatomy. It offers a unique set of digitized versions of skeletons in 2-D and 3-D in full color. The user can navigate through the various regions of the skeleton and view all orientations of each element along with muscle and joint information. eSkeletons enables you to view the bones of both human and non-human primates ranging from the gorilla to the tiny mouse lemur. Copyrighted under creative commons license-free to share and remix with attribution.

Embryology and OBGYN

The Multi-Dimensional Human Embryo site shows human embryo specimens representing ten stages of development imaged by magnetic resonance microscopy (MRM) to produce three-dimensional image data sets. Images from each embryo optically photographed under a low-power microscope are also available.

scanning electron micrographs

Tutorial on Embryo Images Normal and Abnormal Mammalian Development using scanning electron micrographs (SEMs) (labeled and unlabeled) with illustrations the to teach mammalian embryology. Illustrations are embedded inside slideshows and are small. Line drawings have been used with permission from Lippincott Williams & Wilkins and are from the 6th and 7th editions of Langman’s Medical Embryology by T.W. Sadler and may not be reproduced without the permission of the publisher.

OBGYN.net Image Library This site is devoted entirely to providing access to images of interest to women’s health. Because of the graphic nature of the material some individuals may prefer not to view these images. They are provided for educational purposes only. Do not reproduce without permission of MediSpecialty.com

Clinical Images

Catalog of Clinical Images from the University of California, San Diego. Pictures represent common and uncommon physical exam findings (presentations of disease).

Educational Illustrations

Graphics Gallery is a series of labeled diagrams (illustrations) with explanations representing the processes of biotechnology. Each diagram is followed by a summary of information, providing a context for the process illustrated. Educational use is allowed as long as you ask first. If just linking to their site then no need to ask permission.

Patient Education

Discovery Education clip-art on the theme of health and safety. Good if you want an embroidery pattern for the backbone, tooth, etc. Permission is granted to download no more than ten different clip art images for non-revenue-producing use on hard copy documents or on Web sites.

Study of the Brain

The Whole Brain Atlas from Harvard Medical School. Imaging of the normal and diseased brain. All materials are copyrighted. If you would like to point to any of these materials, please LINK to the original documents. Portions of this work may be individually downloaded, copied, and cited for the personal and educational purposes of individuals and organizations, provided that proper attribution and context are given.

Neuroanatomy Tutorial at the University of Utah Health Sciences Center. Pictures of the brain enriched with labeling; you can click on the name of the structure and that part of the image will be identified.

Dermatology

Dermatology Atlas from the Loyola University Dermatology Medical Education Website. Includes photographs and some histology images. Non-commercial educational institutions can uses images in lectures for free as long as source is acknowledged.

Dermatology Information System (with Atlas) provided by the Dept. of Clinical Social Medicine (Univ. of Heidelberg) and the Dept. of Dermatology (Univ. of Erlangen). Allows you to search for skin diseases by localization.

Dematological Pathology contains slides of both normal and diseased skin. Duplication of images for reasons other than personal use requires the expressed written permission of the University of Iowa.

Cardiothoracic

Cardiothoracic Imaging from the Yale University School of Medicine. Images (x-rays, etc.), labeled illustrations, some 3-D phantom structures portraying the heart and lungs. Developed as teaching tool for medical students.

Hematology

American Society of Hematology (ASH) Image Bank Hematology slides intended to serve as a comprehensive reference and teaching tool. Terms and conditions for use of the ASH Image Bank are available from the American Society of Hematology.

Histology

The JayDoc HistoWeb A histology atlas that corresponds with the laboratory exercises of the Cell & Tissue Biology course of the School of Medicine of the University of Kansas. Provides succinct explanations of the tissues to guide the first-year medical student in the use of their microscope. Images may be used in non-profit and educational applications

Pathology

PathoPic pathology images PathoPic is a public access image database. Each image is classified according to its topography, diagnosis, stain, etc. Non-commercial, educational institutions (universities), have the right to reproduce the images free of charge and without prior approval for lectures; PathoPic requests acknowledgment of image source by placement of logo on the picture.