Wellcome Trust Medical Photographic Library Biomedical Image Awards 1997

This display presents some of the best images that the Wellcome Trust Medical Photographic Library acquired between 1995 and 1997. The judges selected outstanding examples from various fields of biomedical science that show the use of a wide range of photographic and electronic imaging techniques. The award-winning images have been chosen because of their technical quality, the nature of their subject matter and their fundamental aesthetic appeal.

The selection illustrates the way new technology has enabled medical scientists to learn about the fundamentals of human life and development, from the minuscule fertilized embryo to the infinitesimal elements of each of its chromosomes. A variety of imaging techniques - confocal, scanning electron, atomic field and light microscopy, along with fluorescent dyes and electronically manipulated colour - can uniquely illuminate everything from the structure of an organ to the dividing nucleus of a cell.

This display is dedicated to the memory of Professor Reg Chapman.