Anatomies

It is the inspiration for art, the subject of science and the source of some of the greatest stories ever told. From ancient body art to plastic surgery, from early anatomists to conceptual artists, grave-robbers to bionic athletes, our changing attitudes to the human body, how it works, what it should look like, how to live with it, what it means, tell us more about ourselves than almost any other subject in human history. And yet, until we fall ill, most of us take this extraordinarily complicated collection of flesh, bones and fluids entirely for granted. Blending history, science, art,…