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Photomacrograph of the head of a black bee (unknown species). One of two compound eyes and mouthparts are visible as well as two antennae extending out from the top of the bee's head. The bee's stinger (orange) is also visible. Bees are important pollinators and play a crucial role in maintaining our environment, promoting the growth of crops and flowers many of which directly impact on our own health and wellbeing. Width of image is 5 mm.

Black bee (unknown species)

Young male scientist in a laboratory

All animals possess unique anatomic variations that help them adapt to their environment. The Grey Parrot Anatomy Project has been established in part to improve upon and create technology that allows the world to study anatomy of any animal. By understanding what is normal, we are better positioned to identify and ultimately treat the abnormal. Discoveries made through the project have already been used on a large variety of animals including humans. 



BriteVu®, a novel contrast agent developed out of the project allows researchers to see vasculature (with the aid of a CT scan) down to the capillary level. A grey parrot head is seen here with vessels highlighted using BriteVu®. One interesting finding has been the tortuous vessels at the base of the head. These vessels have slack to allow the bird to turn its head around without significantly altering blood flow.

Microvasculature of grey parrot head

Differential interference contrast (DIC) micrograph of a longitudinal section of a cat tongue. This sample is from a vintage prepared slide from the period 1870 - 1905. A single rasping papilla (backward facing spine on a cat's tongue) typical of a carnivore can be seen, together with some of the underlying muscle structure.

Cat tongue, longitudinal section

Internal architecture of the trachea and lungs, 3D printed in Frosted Ultra Detail plastic. 


This image shows the internal structure of the lungs. The trachea (windpipe) divides into two branches called bronchi, which each divide further to produce smaller branches called bronchioles. After a number of further subdivisions, the bronchioles terminate into alveoli, which are the air sacs of the lungs where gas exchange occurs.


An extension of a previous project, the lungs belong to Caroline who was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma cancer. The 2D data contained in her CT scans were converted into 3D renders by the artist who was then able to export them to a printable format. 


The size of the original artwork is 15cm (h) x 10cm (d) x 15.6cm (w).

Wellcome Trust photography by Ben Gilbert.

Internal structure of the lungs, 3D printed plastic

The condition has been visualised using thermal infrared which allows us to see thermal energy or radiation more commonly referred to as heat.

The image shows the hand of a person experiencing symptoms of Raynaud's against that of a person who is unaffected



The hand affected with Raynaud's is on the right, the other hand is unaffected. This image shows both hands after exposure to cold water for 2 minutes, both hands appear to emit low levels of radiation. This image illustrates how the unaffected hand warms considerably quicker and begins to emit higher levels of radiation (heat) soon after exposure whilst the affected hand continues to emit lower levels.



Thermal Infrared is found within the Infrared region on the electromagnetic spectrum.



The different colours in the images represent different levels of thermal energy being emitted from the skin's surface. In this image the yellow and orange colours show a high level of thermal energy and the blue and purple a lower level. 



Raynaud's phenomenon (also referred to as Raynaud's syndrome or Raynaud's disease) affects the bodily extremities, most commonly the hands and feet. On exposure to cold or stress, the blood vessels at the extremities constrict or narrow restricting the flow of blood, this is called vasoconstriction. When this happens in the hands then the fingers will often change colour becoming very pale as less blood reaches the surface of the skin, this means there is also less radiation of heat from the affected area.

Raynaud's Phenomenon

Yellow Jacket Wasp


The yellow jacket wasp is a predatory wasp native to North America. The wasps are typically black and yellow in colour and around 12 milliletres long. When the wasps attack they can deliver repeated shots of venom via lance-like stingers with small barbs.

In this photomacrograph we can see the head of the wasp in very close detail. The two antenna sit in the antennal sockets. There are tiny hairs sparsely distributed over the frons and this makes the wasp inefficient as a pollinator (unlike bees). The two compound eyes stretch from the front to the back of the head.


Width of Image 1 millimetre

Yellow Jacket Wasp, anterior view

All animals possess unique anatomic variations that help them adapt to their environment. The Grey Parrot Anatomy Project has been established in part to improve upon and create technology that allows the world to study anatomy of any animal. By understanding what is normal, we are better positioned to identify and ultimately treat the abnormal. Discoveries made through the project have already been used on a large variety of animals including humans. 



BriteVu®, a novel contrast agent developed out of the project allows researchers to see vasculature (with the aid of a CT scan) down to the capillary level. In this image, the rat heart (top), iris (middle) and kidney (bottom) are perfused with BriteVu® revealing the microvasculature of each organ. By seeing the vasculature, researchers can study the effect of cancer, diabetes mellitus, infections, autoimmune disorders and much more on the blood vessels.

Microvasculature of rat heart, iris and kidney

Photomacrograph of a great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) tooth. The great white shark is one of the most popularly known sharks, with a fearsome reputation for attacking humans. It is considered the world's largest predator but has a broad range of prey which includes other marine mammals, bony fish and rays. Large white sharks can also catch reptiles, birds and other large fish. Their upper teeth are large, triangular in shape and sharply serrated which enables them to prey on large creatures. Their lower teeth are narrower and used to hold prey. Width of image is 7.5 cm.

Great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) tooth

The hand has been visualised using thermal infrared which allows us to see thermal energy or radiation more commonly referred to as heat.


Thermal Infrared is found within the Infrared region on the electromagnetic spectrum.



The different colours in the images represent different levels of thermal energy being emitted from the skin's surface. In this image the yellow and orange colours show a high level of thermal energy expected in a hand with a regular healthy blood flow.

Thermogram of normal hand

A conical flask is a flat bottomed flask with cylindrical neck and of course a conical shaped body (hence the name). It is also known as an Erlenmeyer flask so called after the German chemist Emil Erlenmeyer who is said to have designed it in the mid 1800's.

The shape of the flask allows its contents to be mixed by 'swirling' as can be seen with the coloured liquid in this image.

Conical flask with black liquid

The image shows the 'heat signature' left behind of the hand of a person experiencing symptoms of Raynaud's against that of a person who is unaffected



The hand affected with Raynaud's is on the right, the other hand is unaffected. This image shows the heat pattern left behind once the hands are lifted from the surface.



Thermal Infrared is found within the Infrared region on the electromagnetic spectrum.



The different colours in the images represent different levels of thermal energy being emitted from the skin's surface. In this image the yellow and orange colours show a high level of thermal energy and the blue and purple a lower level. 



Raynaud's phenomenon (also referred to as Raynaud's syndrome or Raynaud's disease) affects the bodily extremities, most commonly the hands and feet. On exposure to cold or stress, the blood vessels at the extremities constrict or narrow restricting the flow of blood, this is called vasoconstriction. When this happens in the hands then the fingers will often change colour becoming very pale as less blood reaches the surface of the skin, this means there is also less radiation of heat from the affected area.

Thermal hand prints

Buff-tailed bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) sitting on a purple flower. Bees are important pollinators and play a crucial role in promoting the growth of crops and flowers. The aposematic yellow and black banding pattern on the bee acts as a warning to deter predators.

Digitally coloured X-ray of wooden timber previously housing a ship worm (Teredo navalis). Multiple tunnels (black) have been carved into the wood by this worm-like marine bivalve mollusc. Teredo navalis are specialised for wood boring and are the most common and destructive ship worm, causing permanent damage to wooden structures such as drift wood, boat hulls and piers. The inside of these characteristic winding burrows have circumferential markings. The grain of the wood is visible as vertical stripes (yellow). The width of the tunnels is approximately 6 mm in diameter.

Wood burrows from a naval ship worm (Teredo navalis), X-ray

This image is of a bioglass lattice, produced by 3D printing. These lattices show very promising properties for repairing bone defects, as they stimulate bone growth and dissolve over the course of several weeks. 

This image covers an area of 2.5 x 2 mm.

3D printed bioglass lattice, SEM

Hand drawn pen illustration in cartoon style. Image includes the word "love" and shows two people standing side by side looking at each other.



Part of the "Shifting Perspectives" exhibition, London 2013.

Love, hand drawn illustration

A 3D digital representation of a knee joint Xray, printed onto aluminium plates. The xray image was printed digitally onto acetate and used as a negative. Silver gelatin was used to coat aluminium plates, making them photosensitive. These coated aluminium plates were then treated as a photographic piece of paper: the artist has used the traditional analogue processing methods of developing and fixing to produce the final images. This method was the primary processing method between the 1880s and the 1960s, before colour photographs gained popularity.



This image is of the knee joint as seen from the left. The knee cap, or patella, is seen in the left-hand side of the image, as the piece of floating bone. The bone above the joint is the femur, and two bones below are the tibia (left) and fibulla (right). 



This image is part of a bigger project called 'Soffice' or 'De Humani Corporis Fabrica'



The original artwork is 11 x 14 cm.

X-ray of a knee joint printed on coated aluminium, artwork

Photomacrograph of a worker honey bee (unknown species). The bee has a hairy thorax covered in pollen grains, a segmented abdomen, a pair of double wings and three pairs of segmented legs. One of two compound eyes (for accurate perception of movement), two antennae, and the bee's stinger are also visible here. Bees are important pollinators and play a crucial role in maintaining our environment, promoting the growth of crops and flowers many of which directly impact on our own health and wellbeing. Width of image is 2 cm.

Honey bee (unknown species)

9 artworks of the brain depicting personality and character traits. Images resemble a black and white negative or scan.
Top row: Woolly thinking, Airhead, Clouded Thoughts
Middle row: Pea Brain, Bright Idea, Feather Brain
Bottom row: Open-minded, Deflated, Wired

Artworks of the Brain as b/w negative images

The condition has been visualised using thermal infrared which allows us to see thermal energy or radiation more commonly referred to as heat.



The hand affected with Raynaud's is on the right, the other hand is unaffected. This image shows both hands after exposure to cold water for 2 minutes both hands appear to emit low levels of radiation. Images N0037146-53 and Images N0037155, 56, 58 and 59 illustrate how the unaffected hand warms considerably quicker and begins to emit higher levels of radiation (heat) whilst the affected hand continues to emit lower levels.



Thermal Infrared is found within the Infrared region on the electromagnetic spectrum.



The different colours in the images represent different levels of thermal energy being emitted from the skin's surface. In this image the yellow and orange colours show a high level of thermal energy and the purple and pink a low level. 



Raynaud's phenomenon (also referred to as Raynaud's syndrome or Raynaud's disease) affects the bodily extremities, most commonly the hands and feet. On exposure to cold or stress, the blood vessels at the extremities constrict or narrow restricting the flow of blood, this is called vasoconstriction. When this happens in the hands then the fingers will often change colour becoming very pale as less blood reaches the surface of the skin, this means there is also less radiation of heat from the affected area.

Conceptual artwork illustrating how humans may evolve in the future in a world affected by climate change. Depicted here is a single body hair which has been bioengineered to function as a digestive system. Bacteria on the hair feed on pollutants in the atmosphere (such as hydrocarbons) and convert them into nutrients. These are then absorbed by the body through hair and into the bloodstream.

This image forms part of an ongoing project "After Information", a speculative scenario which imagines a post-informational era where biotechnologies are commonplace and widely accepted into human life.

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Black bee (unknown species)

Young male scientist in a laboratory

Microvasculature of grey parrot head

Cat tongue, longitudinal section

Internal structure of the lungs, 3D printed plastic

Raynaud's Phenomenon

Raynaud's Phenomenon

Yellow Jacket Wasp, anterior view

Microvasculature of rat heart, iris and kidney

Great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) tooth

Young male scientist in a laboratory

Thermogram of normal hand

Conical flask with black liquid

Thermal hand prints

Buff-tailed bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) sitting on a purple flower. Bees are important pollinators and play a crucial role in promoting the growth of crops and flowers. The aposematic yellow and black banding pattern on the bee acts as a warning to deter predators.

Wood burrows from a naval ship worm (Teredo navalis), X-ray

3D printed bioglass lattice, SEM

Love, hand drawn illustration

X-ray of a knee joint printed on coated aluminium, artwork

Honey bee (unknown species)

Artworks of the Brain as b/w negative images

Internal structure of the lungs, 3D printed plastic

Raynaud's Phenomenon

Bioengineered hair absorbs nutrients, conceptual artwork

Raynaud's Phenomenon

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Wellcome uses cookies.

Search the collections

More filters

Active filters:

Black bee (unknown species)

Young male scientist in a laboratory

Microvasculature of grey parrot head

Cat tongue, longitudinal section

Internal structure of the lungs, 3D printed plastic

Raynaud's Phenomenon

Raynaud's Phenomenon

Yellow Jacket Wasp, anterior view

Microvasculature of rat heart, iris and kidney

Great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) tooth

Young male scientist in a laboratory

Thermogram of normal hand

Conical flask with black liquid

Thermal hand prints

Buff-tailed bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) sitting on a purple flower. Bees are important pollinators and play a crucial role in promoting the growth of crops and flowers. The aposematic yellow and black banding pattern on the bee acts as a warning to deter predators.

Wood burrows from a naval ship worm (Teredo navalis), X-ray

3D printed bioglass lattice, SEM

Love, hand drawn illustration

X-ray of a knee joint printed on coated aluminium, artwork

Honey bee (unknown species)

Artworks of the Brain as b/w negative images

Internal structure of the lungs, 3D printed plastic

Raynaud's Phenomenon

Bioengineered hair absorbs nutrients, conceptual artwork

Raynaud's Phenomenon

Stay in the know

Wellcome Collection

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