Andreas Vesalius on the larynx and hyoid bone: an annotated translation from the 1543 and 1555 editions of De humani corporis fabrica.

TRANSLATORS' NOTE Vesalius' training in anatomy was firmly rooted in the Galenic school of medicine, and it was Galen who, like one ofthe present translators, had a particular interest in the larynx and its surrounding anatomy. 1 Although he was not completely free of Galen's reliance on animal models,2 Vesalius' account of the structure of the larynx is substantially accurate, and can be verified with reference to the standard anatomy books in use today. While his understanding of detail falls far short of what is now known about the anatomy and physiology of the chief organ of voice3 (his description of muscle actions is Galenic), Vesalius' achievement is readily visible both in what he wrote and what he directed his illustrators to engrave on the wood blocks-destroyed during World War TI-which helped make the Fabrica a landmark of Renaissance printing. It is astonishing that a Renaissance text as important as the Fabrica remains untranslated into a readily accessible modern language. To be sure, its companion volume, the Epitome, a standard anatomical textbook for medical students, was ably