'Adam and Eve' plates, or 'fugitive leaves' as they were sometimes known, were very common during the sixteenth century, and many copies have survived. This particular plate was inserted in the 1559 edition of Thomas Geminus's Compendiosa totius anatomie delineatio, where it is commonly found. It has sometimes been suggested that these plates were used by physicians, surgeons, barbers, apothecaries, etc. for didactic purposes. However, the fact that the anatomy is pre-Vesalian, and that so many of them were produced, suggest that they were intended for laymen who wanted to learn about the human body.
