The Texture of Rare and Common Lesions in Soemmerring and Baillie

The publications on morbid anatomy by Matthew Baillie and Samuel Thomas Soemmerring put pathological preparations and images center stage. A comparison between their works highlights major shifts from exceptional to more representative cases and significant differences in the art of representation. Initially Baillie provided careful descriptions of internal postmortem lesions (1793). Then Soemmerring’s prompt German translation added a wealth of references to the literature and specifically to pathological images available in print (1794). Soon after a second unillustrated edition incorporating some of Soemmerring’s comments (1797), Baillie issued ten installments with dozens of pathological plates (1799-1803). His plates differed from those referred to by Soemmerring for their broader scope, representing common and rare conditions alike, and specific attention to the fine changes of texture of the affected parts. Their works document the crucial status of pathological preparations and images at the time and highlight the achievement of Baillie’s work at an artistic as well as at an intellectual level.