The CIBA Collection of Medical Illustrations: Volume 5 – Heart, By Frank H. Netter

The CIBA Collection of Medical Illustrations: Volume 5 – Heart, By Frank H. Netter. 1971 hardcover. 295 pages, very nice condition.

Frank Henry Netter (1906 – 1991) was an American surgeon and medical illustrator. Growing up, he showed a great interest in art. He obtained a scholarship to study at the National Academy of Design, and further studied at the Art Students League of New York. He then began a commercial art career, quickly achieving success and doing work for the Saturday Evening Post and The New York Times. However, his family disapproved of a career as an artist and he agreed to study medicine. After getting a degree at the City College of New York, he completed medical school at New York University and a surgical internship at Bellevue Hospital and attempted to begin practicing medicine.

Having continued doing freelance art during his medical training, including some work for his professors, he fell back on medical art to supplement his income. In particular, pharmaceutical companies began seeking Netter for illustrations to help sell new products, such as Novocain. In 1936, the CIBA Pharmaceutical Company commissioned a small work from him, a fold-up illustration of a heart to promote the sale of digitalis, which proved hugely popular with physicians. Beginning in 1948, CIBA also used illustrations by Netter in another series of materials to be given to physicians, the Clinical Symposia series. These were small magazine-like brochures that typically featured an extensive article on a medical condition, commonly with about a dozen of Netter's illustrations. In all, Netter produced nearly 4,000 illustrations, which have been included in countless publications. In perspective, that number represents an image researched, sketched, and completely painted for every three business days for over 50 years.

The most critically acclaimed of all of Dr. Frank H. Netter's works, this fully illustrated single book from the 8-volume/13-book reference collection includes: hundreds of world-renowned illustrations by Frank H. Netter, MD; informative text by recognized medical experts; anatomy, physiology, and pathology; and diagnostic and surgical procedures.