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John Lizars' (1792-1860) 'A System of Anatomical Plates of the Human Body' is widely recognized as one of the finest British anatomical atlases published in the nineteenth century. Lizars' commentators always praise his illustrations for their artistry and accuracy, but no one ever provides an account of why they are artistically significant or what makes them veracious. The principal aim of this paper is to begin a discussion of both of those subjects and to show how Lizars used the resources of the visual arts as analytical tools to extend his audience's understanding of the human body., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interestsThe author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

In his time, William Wadd (1776-1829) was a well-known and well-respected surgeon and writer. He was also a very good visual artist who made his own anatomical illustrations. The subject of this paper is a set of drawings by Wadd in the collection of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. The drawings appear to be clinical studies, but what is most striking about them is the way in which they make use of the conventions of portraiture from that time. In an era before standardised, artistically neutral illustrations, they provide an excellent example of how medicine and the fine arts were interrelated in the production of knowledge.

In 1870 William Osler (1849-1919) switched from medical studies at the University of Toronto and finished his final two years at McGill University, graduating in 1872. After two years of study abroad, he returned to McGill's medical faculty where he taught for 10 years. This paper surveys the less well-known student environment of the time. It looks at faculty members and reforms to the curriculum at McGill that contributed to Osler's development as a doctor taking into account his own subsequent contributions as a member of faculty.