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  • Details of the anatomy of the penis, after Heister and Graaf. Engraving by Benard, late 18th century.
  • Details of the anatomy of the penis, after Heister and Graaf. Engraving by Benard, late 18th century.
  • A man holding an anatomy book with an engraving of a woman showing her viscera. Oil painting, 18th century.
  • The anatomy of the abdomen, showing the kidneys, the intestines, etc., after Haller. Engraving by Benard, late 18th century.
  • A man holding an anatomy book with an engraving of a woman showing her viscera. Oil painting, 18th century.
  • Atropa belladonna L. Solanaceae. Deadly nightshade. Dwale. Morella, Solatrum, Hound's berries, Uva lupina, Cucubalus, Solanum lethale. Atropa derives from Atropos the oldest of the three Fates of Greek mythology who cut the thread of Life (her sisters Clotho and Lachesis spun and measured the thread, respectively). belladonna, literally, means 'beautiful lady' and was the Italian name for it. Folklore has it that Italian ladies put drops from the plant or the fruits in their eyes to make themselves doe-eyed, myopic and beautiful. However, this is not supported by the 16th and 17th century literature, where no mention is ever made of dilated pupils (or any of the effects of parasympathetic blockade). Tournefort (1719) says 'The Italians named this plant Belladonna, which in their language signifies a beautiful woman, because the ladies use it much in the composition of their Fucus [rouge or deceit or cosmetic] or face paint.' Parkinson says that the Italian ladies use the distilled juice as a fucus '... peradventure [perhaps] to take away their high colour and make them looke paler.' I think it more likely that they absorbed atropine through their skin and were slightly 'stoned' and disinhibited, which made them beautiful ladies in the eyes of Italian males. Distribution: Europe, North Africa, western Asia. Culpeper (1650) writes: 'Solanum. Nightshade: very cold and dry, binding … dangerous given inwardly … outwardly it helps the shingles, St Antonie's Fire [erysipelas] and other hot inflammation.' Most of the 16th, 17th and 18th century herbals recommend it topically for breast cancers. Poisonous plants were regarded as 'cold' plants as an excess of them caused death and the body became cold. They were regarded as opposing the hot humour which kept us warm and alive. Poultices of Belladonna leaves are still recommended for muscle strain in cyclists, by herbalists. Gerard (1633) writes that it: 'causeth sleep, troubleth the mind, bringeth madnesse if a few of the berries be inwardly taken, but if more be taken they also kill...'. He was also aware that the alkaloids could be absorbed through the skin for he notes that a poultice of the leaves applied to the forehead, induces sleep, and relieves headache. The whole plant contains the anticholinergic alkaloid atropine, which blocks the peripheral actions of acetylcholine in the parasympathetic nervous system. Atropine is a racemic mixture of d- and l- hyoscyamine. Atropine, dropped into the eyes, blocks the acetylcholine receptors of the pupil so it no longer constricts on exposure to bright light - so enabling an ophthalmologist to examine the retina with an ophthalmoscope. Atropine speeds up the heart rate, reduces salivation and sweating, reduces gut motility, inhibits the vertigo of sea sickness, and is used to block the acetylcholine receptors to prevent the effects of organophosphorous and other nerve gas poisons. It is still has important uses in medicine. Atropine poisoning takes three or for days to wear off, and the hallucinations experienced by its use are described as unpleasant. We have to be content with 'madness', 'frenzie' and 'idle and vain imaginations' in the early herbals to describe the hallucinations of atropine and related alkaloids as the word 'hallucination' in the sense of a perception for which there is no external stimulus, was not used in English until 1646 (Sir T. Browne, 1646). It is a restricted herbal medicine which can only be sold in premises which are registered pharmacies and by or under the supervision of a pharmacist (UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)). Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Anatomie from Diderot's Encyclopedie
  • Laboratoire et table des raports; lab. & table of symbols
  • Marechal Ferrant et Operant (Farrier shoeing a horse)
  • Contraption with straps for holding horse down
  • Thorax
  • Viscera
  • Portrait of Denis Diderot
  • Portrait of Denis Diderot
  • kidneys, bladder etc
  • Brain, after Tarin
  • Marechal Ferrant et Operant- (Farrier shoeing a horse)
  • Womb
  • Female generative organs
  • Indian method of surgical restoration of the nose. 1764.
  • A man reads a book while his wife cuts his toenails. Coloured etching after G. Piattoli, c. 1800.
  • 'Aunt Lucy' (Ellisia nyctelea (L.) L.): flowering stem with separate flower and fruit segments and a detailed description. Coloured engraving by J.J. or J.E. Haid, c.1750, after G.D. Ehret.
  • A plant (Lycium aethiopicum): flowering stem and floral segments. Watercolour by G. D. Ehret, 1736.
  • A plant (Hyoscyamus aureus): flowering stem and floral segments. Watercolour by G. D. Ehret, 1736.
  • A plant (Sophora tinctoria) related to the pagoda tree: flowering and fruiting stem with separate floral segments. Coloured engraving by J.J. or J.E. Haid, c.1750, after G.D. Ehret.
  • Lycium sp.: two flowering stems of different species of Lycium with their floral segments, fruit and seed. Coloured engraving by J.J. or J.E. Haid, c.1750, after G.D. Ehret.
  • Bunchflower (Melanthium virginicum L.): flowering stem with separate floral segments. Coloured engraving by J.J. or J.E. Haid, c.1750, after G.D. Ehret.
  • Itea virginica L.: flowering stem with separate, labelled floral segments. Coloured engraving by J.J. or J.E. Haid, c.1750, after G.D. Ehret.
  • A Magnolia species: flowering stem with labelled floral segments, fruit and seed. Coloured etching by G. D. Ehret, c.1737, after himself.
  • Indigo plant (Indigofera tinctoria L.): flowering stem with separate flower and fruit segments. Coloured engraving by J.J. or J.E. Haid, c.1750, after G.D. Ehret.