Joseph Hyrtl earned an international reputation as a technical anatomist. In the mid-nineteenth century, the field of medicine depended heavily on anatomical discoveries, and Hyrtl's work was key to medical progress. Hyrtl was a lifelong academic, but the money he earned from producing anatomical supplies made him rich.

Hyrtl was born in Kismarton, Hungary, which is now part of Austria, and studied medicine in Vienna, serving as prosector (one who performs dissections for anatomical demonstrations) for the anatomist Joseph Berres. While he was still a student, Hyrtl taught anatomy to practitioners in the community. When he completed his doctorate in 1835, his dissertation advocated the study of anatomy and clinical instruction, seeing no value in conducting physiological experiments on animals. Hyrtl continued as prosector for another two years before accepting an anatomy professorship in Prague. In 1845, Hyrtl returned to teach anatomy at his alma mater in Vienna. He was...