Mascagni, Professor of Anatomy at Siena, made several discoveries regarding the lymphatics. His beautiful atlas contained 41 engravings of the lymphatics and gained him lasting fame. He had previously published a Prodrome, in French, 1784; this contained only four plates.

Mascagni's anatomy for artists and sculptors, edited for posthumous publication by Mascagni's literary execultor Francesco Antonmarchi. 15 hand-colored engraved plates after drawings by Antonio Serantoni (1780j-1837), an artist that Mascagni trained and worked with for many years.

The largest of all medical books from the standpoint of format. The 44 life size engraved plates are reproduced in double elephant folio size measuring 950 x 635 mm., and include an almost incredible level of detail. Published posthumously in fascicules over ten years, very few sets were issued, some hand-colored by the artist, Antonio Serrantoni. Three plates placed end-to-end illustrate the entire figure life-size. A lithographed edition, almost indistinguishable from the engraved edition, was issued nearly simultaneously by Francesco Antommarchi (Paris, 1823-26); G-M 7242). Antommarchi, Mascagni's literary executor, had been Napoleon's physician on St. Helena, and had presided over Napoleon's autopsy. For a longer discussion of Antommarchi's version, and why two versions of this huge publication were issued almost simultaneously, see "The Double Publication of the Double Elephant Folio of Anatomy," at HistoryofInformation.com at this link. A small folio authorized version of the Pisa edition, with more conveniently sized versions of the dramatic color plates, was issued in 2 vols., Florence, Batelli, 1833. 

Considering that it is among the rarest of all anatomies, and certainly the largest and probably the most spectacular, it is remarkable that two nearly identical editions of Mascagni’s posthumous life-size anatomy were published almost simultaneously. The present lithographed edition was issued between 1823 and 1826 by Mascagni's literary executor and Napoleon's physician at St. Helena, Francesco Antommarchi. An edition with engraved plates was also published in Pisa under the title Anatomia universa (1823-32) (G-M 409.1).