Ambroise Paré, Opera, Paris: J. Dupuys, 1582, translated into Latin by Jacques Guillemeau, p. 191, woodcut, leaf height 35 cm, K.7.29.

Ambroise Paré (c. 1510-1590) was a barber-surgeon who served the French army and became surgeon to a succession of Kings of France, namely Henry II, Charles IX and Henry III. He wrote various tracts in French, including one that advocated the use of dressing instead of cauterization for gunshot wounds. Paré’s works were translated here by Jacques Guillemeau into Latin, and reached a wider audience. This edition contains a tract on anatomy with numerous illustrations copied from Vesalius, as was this dorsal view of the skeleton. A scythe was added to this image, which made explicit the link between the skeleton and death. This seems to be a common embellishment, as can be seen in Coiter’s work.

Paré generally listed and discussed fewer anatomical structures than Vesalius had done, as can be seen here. This perhaps reflects the limited need he saw of anatomical details to a barber-surgeon.