Root Gallery

Skull anatomy by Leonardo da Vinci

Skull anatomy by Leonardo da Vinci. Historical artwork and notes on the anatomy of the human skull and teeth, by the Italian artist and scientist Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519). This bisected skull shows the external structure (right), and dissected facial sinuses (left), the air-filled spaces inside the bones of the face. The diagram at lower left shows the teeth present in one half of the mouth: 4 incisors, 2 canines, 4 pre-molars, and 6 molars. Da Vinci was the first anatomist known to have correctly noted the number and root structure of human teeth. The notes are an example of his mirror writing, which was written backwards from right to left, and could be read in a mirror

© SHEILA TERRY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Vascular bundle, SEM

Vascular bundle. Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of a section through a vascular bundle from a rootlet of a dicotyledon plant. The vascular bundle consists of xylem (yellow) and phloem (pink) tissue. Xylem transports water and mineral nutrients from the roots throughout the plant and phloem transports carbohydrates and plant hormones around the plant. Surrounding the vascular bundle is single layer of endodermis (purple) and then cortex (green), which consists of parenchyma cells. Magnification: x400 when printed at 10 centimetres wide

© STEVE GSCHMEISSNER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Papaver (Poppy), two varieties

Two varieties of Papaver (Poppy) -- Papaver flore pleno rubrum (Double Red) and Papaver Eraticum rubrum (Wild Red), drawn by Basilius Besler (1561-1629), one of many plates in a book entitled Hortus Eystattensis sive diligens et accurata omnium plantarum, florum, stirpium ex variies orbis terrae partibus. The book contained illustrations of the flowers in the garden of Prince Bishop Johann Konrad von Gemmingen, in Eichstatt, Germany. Date: 1613

© Mary Evans Picture Library