A comparison of the perceptual skills of physicians and medical illustrators

A medical illustrator uses visual aids to communicate with other medical professionals and with the lay public. These visual aids are designed and executed in such a way that others can better perceive and understand difficult concepts and procedures. Because medical illustrations reflect a subjective interpretation of reality, it is important to ascertain if medical illustrators as a group perceive things as others do. The study reported here determined whether medical illustrators perceive simple visual patterns differently than do physicians or lay people not involved in medicine or art.