Publication is important to medical illustrators as a mechanism to disseminate scientific and medical knowledge. Print publications in the form of books and journals have been a significant format for our work - illustrations created for this purpose have generated countless collaborations with physicians, research scientists, and health science professionals. More recently, online publications have increased the demand for, and visibility of, images, animations, and programs designed and created by medical illustrators.

While the number of books describing medical illustration is relatively small, the number of books containing medical illustration published each year is high. Some of the best examples are recognized in the book categories of the annual AMI Salon.

JournalsThe Journal of Biocommunication is... BooksBooks About Medical Illustration...

The Journal of Biocommunication (JBC)

The Journal of Biocommunication is a scholarly publication distributed in the form of a cutting edge e-journal. The JBC is dedicated to showcasing the highest quality peer-reviewed articles, visuals and multimedia for the biocommunication, medical and health science fields. This publication includes articles and stunning professional galleries of biomedical photography, animation and illustration as well as web design, interactive media and other communication modalities. Subscription to the Journal is an AMI member benefit. Annual subscriptions to the JBC for non-members are available.

The JBC promotes excellence and the sharing of information that may influence the course of the profession, and encourages recognition for high quality contributions.

Brief History of the JBC

AMI's affiliation with the Journal of Biocommunication began with the first publication in 1974. In 2000, the JBC incorporated the Journal of Biological Photography that began publication in 1931 as the Journal of the Biological Photographic Association. In order to increase readership and more fully showcase motion media and animation, the JBC transitioned to an online format in 2003.

Purpose and Goals of the JBC

The Journal of Biocommunication (JBC) is a scholarly publication intended to provide objective and useful information on communication media to the biological, health and medical science communities. This includes the written exchange of formal studies, analyses of experience, evaluation of materials, creative examples of the best in biocommunications, and ideas or opinions contributing to the effective utilization of communications media to improve health-care through education, clinical practice and research.

• Serve as an exemplary showcase of media techniques for communicating science.
• Describe reliable current approaches with proven effectiveness as well as innovative and experimental procedures in medical art and illustration, print, film, television, computer, multi-media systems, and digital imaging.
• Develop communication modalities as applied in the health sciences, along with instructional design and evaluation and storage-retrieval developments related to these applications.
• Encourage widespread sharing and utilization of validated communication materials.
• Promote the concept of biocommunication as a profession, carried out by media specialists, librarians, instructional designers and researchers in concert with practicing professionals and health educators.
• Foster rapport and increased cooperation among biocommunicators at all levels of the profession.
• Achieve scholarly and scientific acceptance as evidenced by the influence that articles and information have on the course of biocommunication and by contributors receiving professional recognition.

Participating Organizations of the JBC

The Journal of Biocommunication is managed by the Journal Management Board, which is made up of representatives of three participating organizations: ABCD, AMI, and BCA. This board is responsible for decisions regarding design and format of the journal, as well as fiscal and personnel decisions relating to the Journal's operation. In addition to the AMI, our JBC sister organizations include:

ABCD
The Association of Biomedical Communications Directors promotes the establishment, growth and effective use of information, communications and educational technology to meet the growing needs of health education, patient care and biomedical research.

BCA
The BioCommunications Association is an international association of media professionals who create and use quality images in visual communications for teaching, documentation and presentations in the life sciences and medicine.

Text Copyright 2010, The Journal of Biocommunication.
Reprinted here with permission from the JBC Management Board.

Books About Medical Illustration

History of the Association of Medical Illustrators
Robert Demarest, editor
ISBN-10: 1883486033

Max Brödel: The Man Who Put Art into Medicine
Ranice W. Crosby and John Cody
ISBN-10: 1883486033

The Guild Handbook of Scientific Illustration
Elaine R. S. Hodges
ISBN-10: 0471360112

AMI Award Winning Books

Illustrated by AMI members, these are award winners in recent salons.