To the Editor.—Physicians rely on the talents and expertise of other health care professionals to provide the best therapy for patients, and they should also rely on professionals for the production of medical illustrations. Well-planned visual aids can add appreciably to the effectiveness of a manuscript or the presentation of a topic. However, there seem to be too few high-quality medical illustrations accompanying published manuscripts. The cause of the problem is not clear. It could be difficulty in finding and communicating with qualified medical illustrators or improper planning by physicians, eg, not allowing enough time for the illustrations to be produced.
Professional medical artists are often employed by medical media departments at hospitals or can be commissioned on a free-lance basis. As a result of formal training, medical artists can provide expertise on the content of a project in addition to perfecting its aesthetic quality.
Physicians, familiar with a