The plates are of large dimensions, measuring over sixteen inches in length, and were cut in wood. Like those in the _Fabrica_, they were made in Italy. Owing to their transient use by medical students, the _Tabulae_ were soon destroyed, although unauthorized editions were printed in several cities. The book was dedicated to Narcissus of Parthenope (Narciso Verdunno, or Vertuneo) who, in 1520, was first physician to the crown of Naples, and later, in 1524, was physician and councilor to Charles the Fifth. It is noteworthy that three of these plates deal with the skeleton, a subject to which Vesalius had given much attention. The absence of a plate showing the nervous system is also to be noted. Vesalius had such a plate prepared, and it appeared in a pirated edition of the _Tabulae_ which was published at Cologne in 1539. The large size of these plates, their fidelity to nature, and the skill with which they were cut in wood, were features which showed to the world that a real master of anatomy had been born. The original drawings were made by Jan Stephan van Calcar, who probably also was the engraver. Only two copies of the _Tabulae Anatomicae_ are known. A fine edition of these plates, reproduced by photography, was privately issued in 1874 by Sir William Stirling-Maxwell, the talented author of the _Annals of the Artists of Spain_. [Illustration: VIEW OF THE CITY OF BASEL IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY] CHAPTER NINTH Publication of the Fabrica [Illustration: Illuminated capital] On the first day of August, 1542, after three years of strenuous labor, Vesalius completed the _Fabrica_, and twelve days later he wrote the last word of the _Epitome_. The blocks for the _Fabrica_, and also those for the _Epitome_, were made in Italy. In the summer of 1542 they were conveyed to Basel by a merchant named Danoni and were safely delivered to the printer, Oporinus. They were accompanied by a long Latin letter, written by Vesalius to his friend, “Joannes Oporinus, professor of Greek letters in Basel”. He begs Oporinus to take the greatest care that the printed illustrations shall correspond with the proofs which accompany the blocks. “Every detail must be distinctly visible, so that each cut shall have the effect of a picture”. Early in the following year Vesalius went to Basel to superintend the printing of his books. While there, he conducted a demonstration in anatomy—the first which had occurred in that city since 1531—and presented the articulated skeleton of the subject to the University. Part of this skeleton exists today. It is thought to be the oldest anatomical preparation in existence. The Fabrica The heart of Vesalius must have filled with joy when he saw the final page of his book turned from the press. The treatise which founded modern anatomy bears this title:—