The disease figure acts as a sort of catch-all figure, meant to serve as an easy visual preface to a text describing bodily disorders from A to Z. In some cases, these are not “diseases” in the way we define the term; for example, one of the first conditions listed is allopitia, or alopecia, meaning baldness. The corresponding descriptive entry for alopecia in the treatise following the figure describes what causes baldness, and suggests remedies meant to restore one’s hair.

A few of the parts of the body are labelled, and the circles connected to the head refer to the four chambers of the brain. The brain was believed to be divided into four cells, according to medieval thought. The front of the head is where common sense resided (sensus communis) followed by the middle front, where the imagination (ymaginativa) was located. The third cell was the seat of rational thought (cogitati rationalio), and finally, the last cell contained the memory (memorativa).

1495: The 1495 disease figure is positioned on solid ground with one arm raised. Several lists surround the figure, acting as an index for the brief descriptions of disorders and their remedies that follow the image. It once again bears noting that the “speedo” on the figure’s genitalia is not original, but rather the work of a censorious later reader.

1500: The 1500 disease figure has been gently flesh-tinted, stands on a bright green ground, and has been given light blond hair. Otherwise, it is nearly identical to the 1495 version.

1509: The 1509 disease figure begins with a brief saying at the top of the page, which says (in Italian) that the human body is supported by 222 bones, 32 teeth, and 365 blood vessels. The figure itself has been flipped, and is given far more distinctive facial shading and general body modeling. Otherwise, it is the same in both style and content to the earlier versions.

1513: The 1513 version echoes the 1495 and 1500 versions in both content and arrangement.

1522: The 1522 version is an interesting hybrid of the Latin 1495, 1500, and 1513 versions combined with the 1509 Italian version. The image itself is very close to the three Latin versions, and also includes the Italian inscription describing the number of bones, teeth, and blood vessels found at the top of the 1509 image.