As chair of medicine at the University of Marburg, Johann Dryander was well aware of the limitations of the medical curriculum, which did not differ much from what had been taught in the Middle Ages: the Aphorisms of Hippocrates, the writings of Galen, and the Canon of Avicenna. Thus, he decided to write a treatise on human anatomy for the use of his students. The first part, dealing exclusively with the anatomy of the human head (Anatomia capitis humani), was published in 1536. Basically, it consisted of woodcut illustrations with their respective captions. In 1537, he published a second edition aimed to display a dissection of the human body, including a longer introduction, more detailed illustrations, and new images of the thorax, heart, and lungs.
Johann Dryander
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Anatomiae, hoc est, corporis humani dissectionis pars prior, in qua singula quae ad Caput spectant recensentur membra, atque singulae partes, singulis suis ad uiuum commodissime expressis figuris, deliniantur. Omnia recens nata Marburg: Eucharius Cervicorius, 1537 The Le Roy Crummer Collection