De Dissectione Partium Corporis Humani Libri Tres

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One of the most important illustrated medical anatomies in the history of medical anatomies, and one of the most fascinating portrayals of women in a medical setting, Charles Estienne's (Carolo Stephano) 1545 De dissectione partium corporis humani libri tres is a beautifully illustrated Latin text. Meaning literally "The Dissection of the Human Body," it contains large folio woodcuts of idealized bodies, of which scholar Benjamin A. Rifikin writes the history.

Rifikin makes note of how Estienne's treatment of women wass both scientifically revolutionary and Classically confining. He was the first anatomist to identify the clitoris. He couches many of his anatomical drawings in Renaissance-style Biblical or Mythical tales, with much overt sexual overtones accompanying instructive diagrams of organs and surgery.