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  • Altmann’s Bioblasts – The Four Seasons (Summer)
  • Geranium sanguineum L. Geraniaceae Dusky cranesbill. Herbaceous perennial. Distribution: Europe and temperate Asia. County flower of Northumberland. This seems to be the 'Sanguin geranium or Blood Roote', Geranium haematodes/haematites, of Lyte (1578). He writes that it is 'not used in Medicyne.' Parkinson (1640) classifies cranesbills somewhat differently, but says that 'all are found to be effectual both in inward and outward wounds, to stay bleedings, vomitings and fluxes, eyther the decoction of the herbe or the powder of the leaves and roots used as the cause demands. Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Lavender leaf trichome (Lavandula sp.)
  • Transverse section of brain and eyes, Zebrafish model
  • Damaged human hair, bleached and straightened, SEM
  • Teucrium fruticans L. Lamiaceae. Tree germander Distribution: Western Mediterranean. Teucrium is named after king Teucer (who lived in the era between 1400 and 1000 BC) the first King of Troy. Dioscorides named a medicinal herb after Teucer, and Linnaeus consolidated this in 1753
  • Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn. Asteraceae Milk thistle. Carduus Mariae. Distribution: Europe. Gerard (1633) calls it Carduus Mariae, Carduus Lectus, or Ladies Thistle, and Carduus leucographus [meaning 'white writing', in reference to the white markings on the leaves] because Pliny wrote about a plant he called Leucographis although Gerard notes that it would be 'hard to assume this to be the same [plant].' He also queries if it is the same as the Alba spina of Galen. Of the latter he reports that Galen recommended it for all manner of bleeding, toothache and the seeds for cramp. Gerard writes that Dioscorides recommends that a drink of the seeds helps infants whose sinews are 'drawne together'
  • Asymmetric cell division in a live zebrafish embryo
  • Varicose Veins, Legs. Female. Illustrated with thermography
  • Glutamatergic neurons in telencephalon, zebrafish
  • Varicose Veins, Legs. Female. Illustrated with thermography
  • Oleander (Nerium oleander) leaf, LM
  • Pulmonaria 'Blue Ensign'
  • Dermatofibroma, LM
  • Villi and goblet cells in rat gut, LM
  • Vinca major - double flowered
  • Galega officinalis L. Fabaceae. Goat's Rue. Distribution: Central and Southern Europe, Asia Minor. Culpeper (1650) writes that it ‘... resists poison, kills worms, resists the falling sickness [epilepsy], resisteth the pestilence.’ Galega officinalis contains guanidine which reduces blood sugar by decreasing insulin resistance and inhibiting hepatic gluconeogenesis.. Metformin and Phenformin are drugs for type II diabetes that rely on this group of chemicals, known as biguanidines. Its name gala, meaning milk plus ega meaning 'to bring on', refers to its alleged property of increasing milk yield, and has been used in France to increase milk yield in cows. officinalis refers to its use in the offices of the monks, and is a common specific name for medicinal plants before 1600 and adopted by Linnaeus (1753). The fresh plant tastes of pea pods. Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Raynaud's Phenomenon
  • Raynaud's Phenomenon
  • Viola canina L. Violaceae Distribution: Europe. Culpeper (1650) writes 'Violets (to whit the blew ones, for I know little or no use of the white ones in physic) ... provoke sleep, loosen the belly, resist fevers, help inflammations, ... ease pains in the head, help the roughness of the windpipe, soreness in the throat, inflammations in the breast and sides, pleurisies, open stoppings of the liver and help the yellow jaundice'. 'Violet leaves, they are cool, ease pains in the head proceeding of heat, and frenzies, either inwardly taken or outwardly applied, heat of the stomach, or inflammation of the lungs.' It still has the same reputation in modern herbal medicine, and while its safety is not known, it is regarded as edible and flowers are used to garnish salads. Larger quantities are emetic – make one vomit. Not licensed for use in Traditional Herbal Medicines in the UK (UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)). Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Plumbago auriculata Blume Plumbaginaceae Plumbago, Leadwort. Distribution: South Africa. It is used traditionally to treat warts, broken bones and wounds. It is taken as a snuff for headaches and as an emetic to dispel bad dreams. A stick of the plant is placed in the thatch of huts to ward off lightning.” Iwou (1993) reports other Plumbago species are used to cause skin blistering, treat leprosy, induce blistering, and to treat piles, parasites and to induce abortions. The genus name derives from the Latin for lead, but authors differ as to whether it was used as a treatment of lead poisoning, or that when it was used for eye conditions the skin turned the colour of lead. Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Healthy adult human brain viewed from the side, deep dream
  • HeLa cells, immortal human epithelial cancer cell line, SEM
  • Butterfly wing scales
  • Adenovirus
  • Apoptosis
  • Healthy adult human brain viewed face on, tractography
  • Pulsatilla vulgaris + Bombylius major
  • Tricyrtis formosana subsp. stolonifera
  • Tradescantia 'Concorde Grape'