An analytical visualization practice. The pathological-anatomical illustrations of Jean Cruveilhier in relation to clinical observations

The article examines the meaning and function of medical illustrations in the famous Atlas Anatomie pathologique, published by the French surgeon Jean Cruveilhier (1791-1874). By tracing the complex representation of pathological entities both back to the visual tradition of anatomy and the semiotic tradition of case descriptions and case histories, the article identifies the visualization technique of Cruveilhier as an analytical practice. The illustration of pathological anatomy gains a functional diagnostic quality when bound to case descriptions and clinical histories. The Atlas serves thereby as a sample to trace the genealogies of a clinical visualization practice in characteristic images that is both engaged with an individual case and classificational tasks.