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IN 1858 SIR HENRY WILLIAMSON GRAY (1827-1861) revolutionized the study of anatomy and the practice of surgery by publishing Anatomy: Descriptive and Surgical; the widely used anatomical textbook composed of a vast number of precise anatomical illustrations. Dr. Gray, the Father of Modern Anatomy, in addition to being a surgeon, lecturer, and curator at St. George's Hospital in London, recognized the need for an affordable and accurate textbook for medical students. Dr. Gray is credited with the authorship of this anatomical masterpiece. It is only with the illustrations of Dr. Henry Vandyke Carter (1831-1897), an English surgeon, professor, and artist that Gray's Anatomy is distinct from previous anatomical textbooks. Dr. Gray and Dr. Carter's intention was to produce a textbook beyond the traditional study of anatomy and create an "application of this science to practical surgery."1
Sir Henry Williamson Gray was born in Belgravia, London, United Kingdom, without a trace of medical heritage (Fig. 1). Thomas Gray, his father, was a private messenger to King George IV and his successor, William IV. Dr. Gray learned from his father how to be observant and inconspicuous, two vital traits that would later shape the making of Gray's Anatomy.2 He was one of four children, with two brothers and a sister. His sister and one of his brothers passed away at a young age. Dr. Gray was a language aficionado, speaking French, German, and Italian.1 In May 1845, he enrolled at St. George's Medical School in London.
All Dr. Gray was certain about was his desire to attend medical school, "it is almost as if Henry Gray did not fully exist as a flesh and blood being until the sixth of May 1845 the day he stepped inside London's St. George's Hospital and signed his name to register as a medical student."2 He had a passion for anatomy and was said to be the "most painstaking and methodical worker."1 Throughout medical school, he explored his propensity toward anatomy by preparing his own elaborate dissections to supplement his learning. In fact, he invested in writing an award-winning essay comprised with illustrations of dissections entitled "Anatomy and Physiology of Nerves of the Human Eye."1 During his final year of medical school, Dr. Gray even became a postmortem examiner.
In 1850,...