Anatomical atlas "Le corps humain et grandeur naturelle" by Julien Bougle, 1899. Andreas Vesalius was the first to publish a treatise, De humani corporis fabrica, with a detailed series of explanations and vivid drawings of the anatomical parts of human bodies. His approach was highly controversial (he dissected the corpses himself), but his evident skill led to his appointment as professor of surgery and anatomy at the University of Padua. The study of anatomy continued to flourish in the 17th and 18th centuries. The history of anatomy in the 19th century saw anatomists largely finalize and systematize the descriptive human anatomy of the previous century.