Frank Henry Netter (1906-1991): neuroanatomical and neuropathological iconography

25 years ago Frank Henry Netter died. He was born in Manhattan in 1906, he graduated at New York University in 1931 and practicized medicine. Soon he started a collaboration with CIBA Pharmaceuticals (1936): at that time the advertising of Swiss company was expanding, due to the development of periodicals. CIBA Zeitschrift was printed in 2 editions and it would have been translated in many other languages: english (2 editions), french, spanish (2 editions), czech, japanese, dutch, swedish, danish, portuguese (2 editions), italian. Another pillar of such a work was represented by anatomical and pathological iconography. In that field, Frank Henry Netter reached the highest point, so that he was named the “Michelangelo” of medicine, and his model of anatomical and pathological iconography became a standard during all the second half of XXth century. His anatomical illustration are still well known and worldwide popularized. Netter started with leaflets illustrating pathological findings in different apparatuses and organs (not regarding CNS). Soon after the WWII, in 1948, such a leaflets were merged to a volume (CIBA Collection of Medical Illustrations), which confirmed Netter’s popularity among medical community. But his first systematic engagement was represented by neuroanatomical and neuropathological iconography. That engagement coincided with the starting of a new CIBA periodical: the Clinical Symposia. The first volume (1948-1949) was mainly devoted to the central nervous system anatomic plates. Because the interest in Dr. Netter’s interpretation of neurologic anatomy seems to be so general, his work continued and in 1953 the volume of neuropathological and neuroanatomical illustrations started a renewed series of CIBA Collection of Medical Illustrations. Netter’s illustrations were Clinical Symposia trademark and he dealt all the aspects regarding neurosciences.