title: [The anatomy lesson of Doctor Tulp].
abstract: The Dr Tulp's Anatomy Lesson is one of Rembrandt's most famous paintings. Analysis of scene suggest that Dr Tulp is demonstrating the action of the flexor digitorum superficialis muscle on the flexion of the fingers PIP joints. Rembrandt's painting is a true lesson of the connection between an anatomic structure and a function. It also bears witnesse of the intellectual atmosphere of the 17th centrury, centered on a new theory of movement, and symbolizes an epistemological break with the descriptive anatomy of Vesalius.
authors.affiliation: Chirurgie orthopédique, Hôpital d'Avicenne, 125, rue de Stalingrad, 93009 Bobigny. alain-charles.masquelet@avc.aphp.fr
authors.forename: Alain Charles
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Masquelet
mesh_terms: D005542:Forearm / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D049670:History, 17th Century; D006801:Humans; D008512:Medicine in the Arts; D010151:Paintings