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Original fileThe Portal Vein System (Tabula Septima)
menschliches Blutgefäßsystem
About This Work
This black-and-white print features a detailed, tree-like anatomical rendering of the portal vein and its various branches. The central trunk represents the hepatic portal vein, spreading into an intricate web of vessels labeled with alphanumeric keys (A through Z) to correspond with an explanatory legend below the illustration. The composition is stark and functional, presented on a rectangular grid against a neutral paper background, typical of early 17th-century anatomical atlases.
This illustration originates from Adriaan van den Spiegel’s 'De humani corporis fabrica libri decem' (1627), though this specific plate is often associated with his anatomical studies published in the early 17th century. It reflects the transition toward rigorous empirical anatomical observation that characterized post-Vesalian medical science.
Inscriptions(Latin)
TABVLA SEPTIMA VENAM PORTAM, atque ramos eiufdem indicans. LIB. I. TAB. XII i.2.3.4.5.Sunt fuperiores rami venæ portæ per hepatis Caua diffeminati. A.A.A.A. Diftributionem illorum fecundum formam hepatis indicant. B. Truncus Portæ, ex Cauo hepatis egrediens. C.C. Ramuli gemelli ad veficulam fellis defcendentes. D. Vena gyaftrica dextra. H.Gaftro epiplois dextra. I.Eft ramus inteftinalis. K. Gaftrica minor. & c. iuxta Bauhini defcriptionem. T. Indicat rami fplenici diuifionem. a.a.a.a. Venæ Lienis fubftantiam perreptantes. b.b. Meffenterica dextra duplex, at vero c.c. illa finiftra. d.d.d.d. Venæ mefferaicæ. e.e. Coli inteftini vena. f.f. Rectum inteftinum implicantes venæ. g.g. Venæ hæmorrhoides, anum amplectentes. L. Epiplois dextra. M. Pancreæ. N. Gaftrica maior. O.O. Venæ duæ rami. N. Pofteriora ventriculi implicantes. P. Gaftrica maioris partitio. Q.R. Coronaria ftomatica. S. Epiplois poftica. T. Ramus fplenicus. V. Epiplois finiftra. X. Gaftro Epiplois finiftra. Y.Z. Venæ ventriculi latus finiftrum petentes. LIBER
Translation
Seventh Table, the portal vein and its branches indicating the same. Book I, Table XII. [Followed by clinical descriptions of venous pathways and their anatomical associations].
Connected Texts
Adriaan van den Spiegel
This plate is part of the anatomical plates often included in his comprehensive anatomical works.
Provenance & Source
Object
engraving
laid paper
Baroque
German
anatomical
Digital Source
Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
501 × 820 px
Linked Data