The University of Iowa Libraries and the UI History of Medicine Society will sponsor an open house of one of the finest collections of notable anatomical illustrations in the United States from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 20, in the John Martin Rare Book Room of the UI Hardin Library for the Health Sciences.

The exhibit, “So Divinely Built a Mansion: Six Centuries of Human Anatomical Illustration,” highlights the largest and most exquisite anatomical atlas ever produced — the rare work “Anatomia Universa” completed by Italian scholar Paolo Mascogni in 1823. The atlas is one of only five copies owned by libraries in the United States. Recently, the UI Libraries Conservation Unit painstakingly remounted 44 hand-colored lithograph plates into acid-free panels to protect Mascogni’s work and provide easier access.

The exhibit will also feature the groundbreaking book that revolutionized the study of anatomy during the Renaissance, “De humani corporis fabrica” (Fabric of the Human Body), produced by Andreas Vesalius in 1543.

The exhibit is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served at the open house. The event is part of a series of presentations sponsored by the UI History of Medicine Society.

For more information, contact Ed Holtum at 319-335-9154 or Susan Lawrence at 319-353-4681.