First published in 1694 in octavo, with only ten plates, Myotomia reformata was reissued in 1724 in folio, greatly expanded and enlarged, with sixty-six engraved plates, and a long introduction on the muscles and their action. The plates were finished, and a draught text prepared by Cowper shortly before his death in 1709. He left instructions for Richard Mead to publish Myotomia, which was eventually issued thirteen years after Cowper's death, under the editorship of Mead, James Jurin, Secretary to the Royal Society, Henry Pemberton, and Joseph Tanner. The beautiful engravings, some after Rubens and Raphael, are among the finest anatomical plates ever produced. In addition Myotomia has interesting decorative initials, and engraved vignettes of muscle-men used as head- and tail-pieces.
