In 1786, a lengthy caravan of mules journeyed from Florence to Vienna carrying a thousand or so anatomical wax models, among them a recumbent "Medical Venus." Possessing a mermaid's head of golden hair, the sorry goddess had been sliced from sternum to stomach, yet still wore her pearls. She and her colleagues were exhibited for the education of medical students as well as the gawking of a prurient public. The models had been a special commission for the Italian sculptor Clemente Susini, later praised for "the beauty he gave to the most revolting things."
And so it is with Figure 1, a free medical photo-sharing app — "Instagram for doctors." Who knew a portrait of an #ingrown-toenail removal could be so gorgeously gory: the tender alabaster big toe, bloody and raw where half the nail has been sliced off, the remaining half with its shimmering silvery chipped polish worn down to nearly nothing, and a few unkempt hairs puncturing the glamour.
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