Medical illustrators are highly trained, specialized artists whose role is to create visual materials which communicate vital information in the ever-expanding frontiers of the scientific world.
        Improvements and changes in technology are contributing to rapid growth trends in all scientific fields. Each advance brings with it the need to inform colleagues, patients and the general public. Illustrations are a critical component of this information exchange. The job of the medical illustrator is to transform complicated technical information into artwork which communicates and/or teaches.
        Some medical illustrators become specialized, devoting the majority of their efforts either to specific markets, such as advertising and editorial illustration; or, specific medical subjects such as ophthalmology or plastic surgery. The majority of medical artists, however, tend to remain generalists. They handle an ever changing variety of assignments from two dimensional techniques such as pen and ink, water color, airbrush, and computer graphics; or through three dimensional techniques, which include the design and procution of portable exhibits, museum displays, teaching models, and prosthetic devices used to replace missing or damaged body parts.

Recommended courses

An art portfolio may have to be submitted as well as GRE scores.

Schools offering Master Degrees
The Medical College of Georgia
University of Illinois at Chicago
The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
The University of Michigan Medical Center
The University of Texas - Dallas
The University of California - San Francisco