Goals of This Web Site

    Sir William Osler, the consummate clinical teacher of medicine, wrote in 1914 in his classic “The Hospital as a College”: “The whole art of medicine is in observation…but to educate the eye to see, the ear to hear and the finger to feel takes time, and to make a beginning…to start a man [sic] on the right path, is all that you can do”.

    The stories of Homo sapiens were first recorded, not in a written language or literature, but in the depiction of the human experience in art dating to at least 40,000 years ago in cave paintings in Africa and even earlier in other objects. Not just often aesthetically pleasing, art enhances our perception of the human experience across time and documents the challenges to the human condition, often in the depiction of disease. It can begin as a starting point to illustrate the human condition(s) to be studied at multiple levels from the “whole person” to the fine molecular/cellular/biochemical/physiologic details to be examined. It engages the student to think about the broader context of the biology they are learning at the most fundamental level and its relevance to the human experience, be it in health or disease. Our basic science curriculum often ignores or overlooks the relevance of the molecular insights gained from our current remarkable abilities to probe the biology of the human (and other species) at the most fundamental level as to the overall impact of these perceptions on the actual life experience for an individual or populations. The fusion of the cellular/molecular/biochemical insights to the actual human experience helps define for the student the “why” of our basic science knowledge and imbues in them a sensitivity to its relevance.

    This website collects some of that art to enable others to use this teaching tool. It is selective, not comprehensive, and, while including art across the spectrum of human disease, reflects, in part, the specialty of endocrinology & metabolism (the expertise of one of the site creators), yet includes art works representing other medical specialties/conditions. All of the art work is in the public domain for use in education. In addition to the images included, the user of this site is referred to the extensive bibliography which includes reference to other images and more details about those used in this site.

To learn more about the site click here!

Using the Site

  • Start by clicking on 'Browse Exhibits' and view the last exhibit "Test Your Skills of Observation" to see how trained your eyes are.

  • Explore different categories by clicking "Browse Exhibits" at the top of the page. A list of titles will appear with their descriptors.

  • Click on the category title to view subsections on the righthand side of the page.

  • Choose a subsection to learn more about the topic and view images of art work related to the subject matter.

  • To view it as a larger image,  click on image to see it and its source

The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp by Rembrandt von Rijn

At the top of this page is an oil painting which depicts the study of the corpse of Aris Kindt. An early masterpiece of Rembrandt in 1632, this scene illuminates the dissected body as central point of examination. Just as the students are viewing the cadaver in this painting, the users of this site are implored to view the art work in this site with the same mindfulness. Similar to how doctors must not only look at but truly see their patients, so should a viewer of art treat each work as a "patient" they must examine. It is an amalgamation of the tangible image and intangible explanations where comprehension emerges.

Creators

Lee A. Witters, MD
Eugene W. Leonard 1921 Professor of Medicine, Medical Education & Biochemistry/Cell Biology, Audrey and Theodor Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
Professor of Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College

Krista E. Schemitsch
Dartmouth College Class of 2024

This site developed, in part, with a grant from the Arts Integration Initiative of the Provost's Office and Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth College.

IN COPYRIGHT - Educational Use Permitted