Excerpt from The Explanation of Albinus's Anatomical Figures of the Human Skeleton and Muscles

But although afterwards, as the inner classes explained what was to be done, the figures of the outer ones were accordingly mended, and all the figures were tolerably well done, and discovered a great deal of skill in the ingraver, yet I was not sufficiently pleased with them, because things were neither connected in them so well as I could wish, nor were they distinctly, nor elegantly enough designed; and they were quite different from those which I had planned in my own mind. This I was convinced of upon trial in some parts which I examined, viz. the belly, breast, arms, and face. And from this I discovered what was to be done, in order to amend what I thought was deficient. I observed that in drawing, as the first order of muscles sufficiently displayed the figure of the limbs in general, they could be well enough expressed by the ingraver in such a manner, as justly to represent the figure of these parts; but that after the external muscles were removed, the further he proceeded amongst the internal, the figure of the parts growing more and more imperfect, was of less assistance to him in drawing these parts, and he was obliged to accommodate them to the first, as the basis. And he must succeed still worse in the bones and skeleton, because the order in which they lie, though it bears a resemblance to the figure of the human body in general, yet at the fame time it differs considerably from it. But unless the skeleton, to which the muscles are affixed, was justly drawn, the muscles themselves could never be right represented. I understood besides, that every thing that was done must be very unsatisfactory, unless the proper dimensions of the different parts were carefully marked. But here there were great difficulties to be overcome. For, in the first place, the parts must all be accurately measured, and afterwards their dimensions marked in the figures. Besides, supposing this could be ever so well done, yet there were other obstacles hardly to be surmounted. To be sure it is very evident, that whatever is the position of the body or limb, the same it must be represented in the figure, provided the dimensions of the parts are accurately marked. But there are some parts which can be put into proper positions and measured; such as the head, arms, hands, legs, and feet: and others which cannot; as the trunk, and neck. By this means it must happen, that these last must be expressed in an improper position, unless it be left to the skill of the ingraver to correct, which I did not chuse to do, for fear of a mistake, as he could not demonstrate to me that he was sure of doing it right. And provided they could all have been put into proper positions, yet if upon searching and handling the muscles, or from any other cause, the first position of the part should in the least be changed, it appeared hardly possible to replace it in such a manner, as that every thing should exactly correspond to those which had beers before taken off. Besides, as was sufficiently evident, one and the same body could never do for the whole, and others would either not correspond, or, if they should, could they be put so exactly into the same situation, as that all the dimensions could be accurately expressed.

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