Gray 39;s Anatomy Book 38th Edition
Waldemar Fischer
Gray's Anatomy is a reference book of human anatomy written by Henry Gray, illustrated by Henry Vandyke Carter and first published in London in 1858. It has had multiple revised editions and the current edition, the 42nd (October 2020), remains a standard reference, often considered "the doctors' bible".[1]
The English anatomist Henry Gray was born in 1827. He studied the development of the endocrine glands and spleen and in 1853 was appointed Lecturer on Anatomy at St George's Hospital Medical School in London. In 1855, he approached his colleague Henry Vandyke Carter with his idea to produce an inexpensive and accessible anatomy textbook for medical students. Dissecting unclaimed bodies from workhouse and hospital mortuaries through the Anatomy Act of 1832, the two worked for 18 months on what would form the basis of the book. Their work was first published in 1858 by John William Parker in London.[2]It was dedicated by Gray to Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, 1st Baronet.
An imprint of this English first edition was published in the United States in 1859, with slight alterations.[3][4]Gray prepared a second, revised edition, which was published in the United Kingdom in 1860, also by J.W. Parker.[5][6] However, Gray died the following year, at the age of 34, having contracted smallpox[5] while treating his nephew (who survived). His death had come just three years after the initial publication of his Anatomy Descriptive and Surgical.Even so, the work on his much-praised book was continued by others.[7]
Longman's publication reportedly began in 1863, after their acquisition of the J.W. Parker publishing business.[8] This coincided with the publication date of the third British edition of Gray's Anatomy.[9] Successive British editions of Gray's Anatomy continued to be published under the Longman, and more recently Churchill Livingstone/Elsevier imprints, reflecting further changes in ownership of the publishing companies over the years.
The full American rights were purchased by Blanchard and Lea, who published the first of twenty-five[a] distinct American editions of Gray's Anatomy in 1862, and whose company became Lea & Febiger in 1908. Lea & Febiger continued publishing the American editions until the company was sold in 1990.[10]
In September 1896, reference to the English edition was dropped and it was published as the Fourteenth Edition, edited by Bern B. Gallaudet, F. J. Brockway, and J. P. McMurrich, who also edited the Fifteenth Edition (October 1901). There is also an edition dated 1896 which does still reference the English edition stating it is "A New Edition, Thoroughly Revised by American Authorities, from the thirteenth English Edition" and edited by T. Pickering Pick, F.R.C.S. and published by Lea Brothers & Co., Philadelphia and New York.[12]
Sometimes separate editing efforts with mismatches between British and American edition numbering led to the existence, for many years, of two main "flavours" or "branches" of Gray's Anatomy: the U.S. and the British one. This can easily cause misunderstandings and confusion, especially when quoting from or trying to purchase a certain edition. For example, a comparison of publishing histories shows that the American numbering kept roughly apace with the British up until the 16th editions in 1905, with the American editions either acknowledging the English edition, or simply matching the numbering in the 14th, 15th and 16th editions. Then the American numbering crept ahead, with the 17th American edition published in 1908, while the 17th British edition was published in 1909. This increased to a three-year gap for the 18th and 19th editions, leading to the 1913 publication of the New American from the Eighteenth English, which brought the numbering back into line. Both 20th editions were then published in the same year (1918). Thereafter, it was the British numbering that pushed ahead, with the 21st British edition in 1920, and the 21st American edition in 1924. This discrepancy continued to increase, so that the 30th British edition was published in 1949, while the 30th and last American edition was published in 1984.[9][14]
The current editions also contain histology, embryology, and pathology subjects that complements anatomical knowledge.[1] The newest edition is the 42nd edition. The more popular[clarification needed] 41st edition of Gray's Anatomy was published on 25 September 2015 by Elsevier in both print and online versions, and is the first edition to have enhanced online content including anatomical videos and a bonus Gray's imaging library. The 41st edition also has 24 specially invited online commentaries on contemporary anatomical topics such as advances in electron and fluorescent microscopy; the neurovascular bundles of the prostate; stem cells in regenerative medicine; the anatomy of facial aging; and technical aspects and applications of diagnostic radiology.
Older, out-of-copyright editions of the book continue to be reprinted and sold, particularly on the internet. However it is not always clear which (British or American) edition these books are republications of. Many seem to be reprints of the 1901 (probably U.S.) edition.[citation needed] Additionally, there are several sites where various older versions can be read online.[17][18][19]
Roger Soames: Emeritus Professor of Anatomy (formerly Cox Professor of Anatomy). As well as a long career in teaching and examining anatomy at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, he was an examiner in Surgical Anatomy at the Royal College of Surgeons London for 8 years.
He has contributed to, edited, or written several anatomy textbooks; most notably, he was section editor of the Skeletal System in the 38th edition of Gray's Anatomy, and co-author of Anatomy and Human Movement: Structure and Function (now in its 7th edition), the standard anatomy textbook for physiotherapy students. He has also published more than 140 papers on various aspects of anatomy and is still involved in research with colleagues nationally and internationally.
The book was first published under the title Gray's Anatomy: Descriptive and Surgical in the United Kingdom in 1858, and the following year in the United States. While studying the anatomical effects of infectious diseases, Gray contracted smallpox from his dying nephew and died shortly after the publication of the 1860 second edition, at the age of 34. Work on his much-praised book was continued by others and on November 24, 2004, the 39th British edition was released.
The British anatomist Henry Gray was born in 1827. He studied the development of the endocrine glands and spleen and in 1853 was appointed Lecturer on Anatomy at St. George's Hospital Medical School in London. In 1855 he approached his colleague Dr Henry Vandyke Carter with his idea to produce an anatomy text book for medical students. His death came just 3 years after the publication of his Anatomy Descriptive and Surgical.
Between 1860 and 1880, seven editions of the text book were published in Great Britain, with the 9th edition published in 1880. It was during this period that development of the book appears to have branched with the publishing of the first dedicated U.S. edition of the book, possibly in 1878 (details on this are scarce and hard to come by). While development of the British edition of the text continued (and new British editions continued to appear), different U.S. editions were also published.
The 1878 U.S. edition appears to have started edition numbering afresh (despite the British version's prior publication in the U.S.). This "first" U.S. edition roughly corresponded to the eighth British edition, with consecutively numbered further U.S. editions appearing thereafter. This led to the existence, for many years, of two main "flavours" or "branches" of Gray's Anatomy: the U.S. and the British one. This can easily cause misunderstandings and confusion, especially when quoting from or trying to purchase a certain edition.
As of September 2007, the latest edition of Gray's Anatomy is the 39th edition, published on November 25, 2004 in the UK and November 24, 2004 in the U.S., which is also available in CD-ROM format. The publisher is Churchill Livingstone in the UK while it is C.V. Mosby in the U.S., and is published in New York City. The two books are almost identical, with minor changes made to take into account differences in British and American terminology (e.g. Adrenaline vs Epinephrine).
A version of Gray's Anatomy called Gray's Anatomy for Students has also been published. It was published on October 5, 2004 in the United Kingdom and October 15, 2004 in the United States, by Churchill Livingstone. However, it should be noted that this is an entirely new book, written from scratch, sharing only the name of the classic.
Older editions of the book continue to be reprinted and sold. On the World Wide Web, there are many offers for what seem to be reprints of the 1901 (probably U.S.) edition. Although such prints may serve artistic uses because their companion illustrations and anatomical cross sections are renowned for their rustic and often haunting presentation, they no longer represent up-to-date anatomical knowledge.
Henry Gray wrote the original version of Gray's Anatomy with an audience of medical students and physicians in mind, especially surgeons. For many decades however, precisely because Gray's textbook became such a classic, successive editors made major efforts to preserve its position as possibly the most authoritative text on the subject in the English language. Toward this end, a long term strategy appears to have been to have the book contain a fully comprehensive account of the anatomical and medical knowledge available at the time of publication of each edition. The senior editor of the latest edition of Gray's Anatomy is Professor Susan Standring, who is Head of the Department of Anatomy and Human Sciences at King's College London.
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