ABC’s of the life of medical students: The decorative initials used in this edition of Vesalius’ correspondence are identical to 22 different initials originally printed in De fabrica (1543). Such “historiated initials” tell stories. In the case of De fabrica, little putti carry out the various tasks of a medical student, such as cleaning bones in river-water, performing a phlebotomy, inserting a catheter, articulating a skeleton, dissecting a decapitated head, or vivisecting a pig.