Schematic drawn for Tabula after Mansur ibn Ilyas (NLM copy, 1488). See the original: Tashrīḥ-i Manṣūrī, system figure (U.S. National Library of Medicine).
Islamic world (Galenic anatomy) · c. 1390s
Mansur ibn Ilyas's Persian treatise pictures the body as five systems: bones, nerves, muscles, veins and arteries. Each is drawn as a full-page figure. This anatomy is Galenic in content, and it is the first known Islamic work with full-body illustrations.
Historical description, not medical advice.
Schematic drawn for Tabula after the Bronze Man woodcuts (1537 ed., Wellcome Collection). See the original: Bronze Man acupuncture figurine, front view (Wellcome Collection).
Classical Chinese (channels and points) · 1027; woodcuts of 1443 and 1537
In 1026–27 the Song court commissioned bronze figures marked with needling points, and an illustrated book to go with them. The body here is mapped by channels and points: a different question from Western anatomy's, answered on its own terms.
Historical description, not medical advice.
Schematic drawn for Tabula after the Ayurvedic Man (Wellcome Collection 574912i). See the original: Ayurvedic Man (Wellcome Collection).
Ayurveda · 18th century (Nepal)
A painted body from Kathmandu shows organs and channels as Ayurvedic texts describe them, with Sanskrit captions taken from a 16th- or 17th-century compendium. Read the image and the words together.
Islamic world (Galenic anatomy)
The Tashrīḥ-i Manṣūrī تشریح منصوری
Historical description, not medical advice.
Written in Persian in Shiraz and dedicated to Pir Muhammad Bahadur, ruler of Fars, this is the first known Islamic anatomical text to illustrate the whole body. The National Library of Medicine holds a copy completed in 1488.
Relation to modern anatomy
This concept has no modern anatomical equivalent.
Sources
Mansur ibn Ilyas's treatise was dedicated to Pir Muhammad Bahadur, ruler of Fars, and is the first known Islamic anatomical text with full-body illustrations.
U.S. National Library of Medicine, Islamic Medical Manuscripts, Anatomy: Mansur ibn Ilyas, Tashrih-i Mansuri. n.d., catalogue essay. Link · Archivescholarly
Cambridge University Library (Lines of Thought exhibition), Mansur ibn Ilyas (active 1394–1409). n.d., exhibition text. Link · Archivescholarly
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Islamic world (Galenic anatomy)
The system of bones
Historical description, not medical advice.
The first of the five system-figures maps the skeleton. The bones are named and described as a framework.
Relation to modern anatomy
This concept partly corresponds to the skull.
This concept partly corresponds to the spine.
Sources
The treatise has five chapters on five systems (bones, nerves, muscles, veins and arteries), each illustrated with a full-page diagram.
U.S. National Library of Medicine, Islamic Medical Manuscripts, Anatomy: Mansur ibn Ilyas, Tashrih-i Mansuri. n.d., catalogue essay. Link · Archivescholarly
Aga Khan Museum (collection record AKM525), Manuscript of Tashrih-e Mansuri (Mansur's Anatomy). 17th c. copy, collection record. Link · Archivescholarly
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Islamic world (Galenic anatomy)
The system of nerves
Historical description, not medical advice.
The nerve figure shows nerves arising from the brain and spinal cord, following Galen's account of how sensation and movement are carried.
Relation to modern anatomy
This concept partly corresponds to the peripheral nerves.
This concept partly corresponds to the spinal cord.
Sources
One of the treatise's five full-page system diagrams is devoted to the nerves.
U.S. National Library of Medicine, Islamic Medical Manuscripts, Anatomy: Mansur ibn Ilyas, Tashrih-i Mansuri. n.d., catalogue essay. Link · Archivescholarly
Aga Khan Museum (collection record AKM525), Manuscript of Tashrih-e Mansuri (Mansur's Anatomy). 17th c. copy, collection record. Link · Archivescholarly
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Islamic world (Galenic anatomy)
The system of muscles
Historical description, not medical advice.
A full-page figure of the muscles completes the picture of how the body moves.
Relation to modern anatomy
This concept partly corresponds to the skeletal muscle.
Sources
One of the treatise's five full-page system diagrams is devoted to the muscles.
U.S. National Library of Medicine, Islamic Medical Manuscripts, Anatomy: Mansur ibn Ilyas, Tashrih-i Mansuri. n.d., catalogue essay. Link · Archivescholarly
Aga Khan Museum (collection record AKM525), Manuscript of Tashrih-e Mansuri (Mansur's Anatomy). 17th c. copy, collection record. Link · Archivescholarly
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Islamic world (Galenic anatomy)
The system of veins
Historical description, not medical advice.
The veins are drawn as a separate system. In Galenic anatomy they rise from the liver and carry nourishing blood outwards. Compare the red-ink belief on the modern figure.
Relation to modern anatomy
This concept partly corresponds to the veins.
Sources
One of the treatise's five full-page system diagrams is devoted to the veins.
U.S. National Library of Medicine, Islamic Medical Manuscripts, Anatomy: Mansur ibn Ilyas, Tashrih-i Mansuri. n.d., catalogue essay. Link · Archivescholarly
Aga Khan Museum (collection record AKM525), Manuscript of Tashrih-e Mansuri (Mansur's Anatomy). 17th c. copy, collection record. Link · Archivescholarly
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Islamic world (Galenic anatomy)
The system of arteries
Historical description, not medical advice.
The arteries are drawn as a system of their own, separate from the veins, rising from the heart as Galen taught.
Relation to modern anatomy
This concept partly corresponds to the arteries.
Sources
One of the treatise's five full-page system diagrams is devoted to the arteries.
U.S. National Library of Medicine, Islamic Medical Manuscripts, Anatomy: Mansur ibn Ilyas, Tashrih-i Mansuri. n.d., catalogue essay. Link · Archivescholarly
Aga Khan Museum (collection record AKM525), Manuscript of Tashrih-e Mansuri (Mansur's Anatomy). 17th c. copy, collection record. Link · Archivescholarly
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Classical Chinese (channels and points)
The Bronze Man 銅人
Historical description, not medical advice.
The court physician Wang Weiyi oversaw the casting of bronze acupuncture figures and the writing of a three-volume illustrated book, completed around 1027. Together they set a national standard for where the channels and points lie.
Relation to modern anatomy
This concept has no modern anatomical equivalent.
Sources
From 1026, by imperial edict, Wang Weiyi oversaw the making of bronze acupuncture figures and an accompanying book, completed around 1027, which served as a national standard for channels and points.
Hong Kong Baptist University, Chinese Medicine Museum, Orientation Zone (history of the bronze acupuncture figures). n.d., Orientation Zone panel. Link · Archivescholarly
Chinese Medicine and Culture, A historical model informing the future: acupuncture standardization in the Northern Song dynasty. n.d. doi:10.1097/mc9.0000000000000193, abstract. Link · Archivescholarly · details pending
Sources disagree on how many points the figures carried; counts of 657 and 365 are both reported.
Different sources report different point counts for the Song figures.
Hong Kong Baptist University, Chinese Medicine Museum, Orientation Zone (history of the bronze acupuncture figures). n.d., Orientation Zone panel. Link · Archivescholarly
Chinese Medicine and Culture, A historical model informing the future: acupuncture standardization in the Northern Song dynasty. n.d. doi:10.1097/mc9.0000000000000193, abstract. Link · Archivescholarly · details pending
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Classical Chinese (channels and points)
A body that tested students
Historical description, not medical advice.
For teaching and examinations the figure was coated in wax and filled with water. A needle placed on the right point released a drop of fluid.
Relation to modern anatomy
This concept has no modern anatomical equivalent.
Sources
When used for teaching and examinations, the figure's surface was covered with wax and its interior filled with water, so that fluid ran out when a point was correctly pierced.
Hong Kong Baptist University, Chinese Medicine Museum, Orientation Zone (history of the bronze acupuncture figures). n.d., Orientation Zone panel. Link · Archivescholarly
Chinese Medicine and Culture, A historical model informing the future: acupuncture standardization in the Northern Song dynasty. n.d. doi:10.1097/mc9.0000000000000193, abstract. Link · Archivescholarly · details pending
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Classical Chinese (channels and points)
Channels named for organs 經絡
Historical description, not medical advice.
The woodcuts trace channels across the body, each named for an organ and a limb: the lung channel of the hand taiyin, the heart-envelope channel, the gallbladder and bladder channels of the foot.
Relation to modern anatomy
This concept partly corresponds to the lungs.
This concept partly corresponds to the heart.
Sources
The 1537 woodcuts of the Bronze Man show channels named for organs, including the lung channel of hand taiyin, the heart-envelope (pericardium) channel, and the gallbladder and bladder channels of the foot.
Wellcome Collection (catalogue record), Bronze Man acupuncture figurine, front view, Chinese woodcut (1537 edition). 1537, catalogue record. Link · Archivescholarly
Wellcome Collection (catalogue record), Bronze Man acupuncture figurine, side view, Chinese woodcut (1537 edition). 1537, catalogue record. Link · Archivescholarly
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Classical Chinese (channels and points)
Qi in the vessels 氣
Historical description, not medical advice.
In the classical texts the vessels carry qi, and only sometimes blood. This is a model of flow and correspondence, not a pump-and-pipes circulation. That's why Tab. IV is marked Revised.
Relation to modern anatomy
This concept has no modern anatomical equivalent.
Sources
In the Huangdi Neijing the vessels carry qi and only sometimes blood, and specialist translators read it as describing neither blood circulation nor a pumping heart.
Paul U. Unschuld, Medicine in China: A History of Ideas. 1985. University of California Press, chapters on the vessels. scholarly
Nature correspondence, [Letter on Needham's and Unschuld's readings of Chinese circulation passages]. 2000, letter text. Link · Archivescholarly · details pending
Woodcuts dated 1443 from the same tradition set out rules for points that must not be needled, a reminder that the system was practical medicine with safety rules.
Relation to modern anatomy
This concept has no modern anatomical equivalent.
Sources
A Chinese woodcut dated 1443 sets out rules for acupuncture prohibitions.
Wellcome Collection (catalogue record), Rules for acupuncture prohibitions, Chinese woodcut, 1443. 1443, catalogue record. Link · Archivescholarly
Wellcome Collection (catalogue record), Location of the Four Flower Points, Chinese woodcut, 1443. 1443, catalogue record. Link · Archivescholarly
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Classical Chinese (channels and points)
The Four Flower points
Historical description, not medical advice.
Another 1443 woodcut shows how to locate the "Four Flower" points by measuring the body itself. Proportion stands in for a ruler.
Relation to modern anatomy
This concept has no modern anatomical equivalent.
Sources
A Chinese woodcut dated 1443 shows the location of the Four Flower points.
Wellcome Collection (catalogue record), Location of the Four Flower Points, Chinese woodcut, 1443. 1443, catalogue record. Link · Archivescholarly
Wellcome Collection (catalogue record), Rules for acupuncture prohibitions, Chinese woodcut, 1443. 1443, catalogue record. Link · Archivescholarly
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Ayurveda
The Ayurvedic Man
Historical description, not medical advice.
A gouache painting of a male body, probably made in Kathmandu around 1800, now in the Wellcome Collection (ref. 574912i). It was exhibited in London in 2017–18.
Relation to modern anatomy
This concept has no modern anatomical equivalent.
Sources
The Ayurvedic Man is a gouache painting of a male body dated to the 18th century (catalogued as c. 1800?), held by the Wellcome Collection as 574912i.
Wellcome Collection (catalogue record, ref. 574912i), Ayurvedic Man. c. 1800?, catalogue record. Link · Archivescholarly
Wellcome Collection (essay), Mapping the body with Ayurvedic Man. 2017, essay. Link · Archivescholarly
Verified 2026-10-10 by Claude (AI-assisted).
Ayurveda
Physician, painters and a scribe
Historical description, not medical advice.
The painting was probably a collaboration between an Ayurvedic physician, Tibetan artists and a calligrapher in Kathmandu. The calligrapher may not have known Sanskrit well.
Relation to modern anatomy
This concept has no modern anatomical equivalent.
Sources
The painting was probably a collaboration between an Ayurvedic physician, Tibetan artists and a calligrapher in Kathmandu, the calligrapher probably unfamiliar with Sanskrit.
Wellcome Collection (essay), Mapping the body with Ayurvedic Man. 2017, essay. Link · Archivescholarly
Dominik Wujastyk, [Study of the Wellcome Ayurvedic Man painting and its Sanskrit text, UCL Discovery eprint 15130]. 2008, abstract. Link · Archivescholarly · details pending
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Ayurveda
Organs as receptacles आशय
Historical description, not medical advice.
The organs on the torso are drawn as receptacles, each holding one of the body's fluids. It is a physiology of containers and flows.
Relation to modern anatomy
This concept partly corresponds to the stomach.
This concept partly corresponds to the heart.
Sources
The painting shows the organs of the torso, each treated as a receptacle for one of the bodily fluids.
Wellcome Collection (catalogue record, ref. 574912i), Ayurvedic Man. c. 1800?, catalogue record. Link · Archivescholarly
Wellcome Collection (essay), Mapping the body with Ayurvedic Man. 2017, essay. Link · Archivescholarly
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Ayurveda
Channels स्रोतस्
Historical description, not medical advice.
Channels run across the torso, carrying the body's fluids between the receptacles. This is the Ayurvedic idea of the body as a network of passages.
Relation to modern anatomy
This concept has no modern anatomical equivalent.
Sources
The painting draws channels on the torso alongside the organs, according to Ayurvedic literature.
Wellcome Collection (catalogue record, ref. 574912i), Ayurvedic Man. c. 1800?, catalogue record. Link · Archivescholarly
Wellcome Collection (essay), Mapping the body with Ayurvedic Man. 2017, essay. Link · Archivescholarly
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Ayurveda
Words from the Bhāvaprakāśa भावप्रकाश
Historical description, not medical advice.
The Sanskrit captions are taken from the Bhāvaprakāśa, an Ayurvedic compendium by Bhāvamiśra. Its date is itself uncertain. The catalogue says 1550–1590, and the leading study says around 1650–90.
Relation to modern anatomy
This concept has no modern anatomical equivalent.
Sources
The painting's captions are extracts from the Bhāvaprakāśa of Bhāvamiśra, whose date is given variously as 1550–1590 and c. 1650–90.
The Wellcome catalogue and Wujastyk's study give different dates for the Bhāvaprakāśa.
Wellcome Collection (catalogue record, ref. 574912i), Ayurvedic Man. c. 1800?, catalogue record. Link · Archivescholarly
Dominik Wujastyk, [Study of the Wellcome Ayurvedic Man painting and its Sanskrit text, UCL Discovery eprint 15130]. 2008, abstract. Link · Archivescholarly · details pending
Wellcome Collection (essay), Mapping the body with Ayurvedic Man. 2017, essay. Link · Archivescholarly
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Ayurveda
Read the picture and the text together
Historical description, not medical advice.
The image isn't a free-standing anatomical drawing. Its meaning depends on the Sanskrit around it, and the leading study argues they have to be read as one work.
Relation to modern anatomy
This concept has no modern anatomical equivalent.
Sources
The Sanskrit passages on the painting have been identified and translated, and the text and image need to be read together.
Dominik Wujastyk, [Study of the Wellcome Ayurvedic Man painting and its Sanskrit text, UCL Discovery eprint 15130]. 2008, abstract. Link · Archivescholarly · details pending
Wellcome Collection (essay), Mapping the body with Ayurvedic Man. 2017, essay. Link · Archivescholarly
Verified 2026-10-10 by Claude (AI-assisted).
c. 200Rome: Galen's anatomy, much of it learned from apes and pigs, will rule for over a thousand years.