ABSTRACT
https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9781003690726/9efc2e0f-c80d-4916-ac2e-5ba6d8471ddd/content/inline40.jpg"/> The Painting In 1670, Adriaen Backer painted a group portrait of Frederik Ruysch and a few other Amsterdam surgeons posing around a corpse. It represents an anatomical lesson conducted by Ruysch, one of the most prominent, academically trained physicians in the Netherlands at that time, who was appointed praelector anatomiae of the Surgeons’ Guild in 1667. In this anatomical lesson, he is shown dissecting the lymph nodes in the groin. This masterpiece is one of the oldest representations of the lymphatic system. Ruysch had spent years doing research into the anatomy of the lymphatic vessels. It is therefore not surprising that he chose the dissection of the lymph nodes as the main theme for a portrayal of himself. The dissection takes place in an unidentified room, the walls of which are decorated in the Classical style. In the niches in the background there are statues of (from left), the physician Galen of Pergamon (AD 130–201), and (right), Aesclepius, the god of medicine, with reference to the profession of those portrayed.
