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  • 3D depth-coloured transparent mouse mammary gland
  • Menstrual blood, artwork title "Slow Dance"
  • Mouse brain capillaries, SEM
  • Acer japonicum Thunb. Sapindaceae. Japanese maple. Small tree. Distribution: Japan, North Korea. Can be tapped in early spring for its sugar-rich sap although it is not as abundant as in Acer saccharum. Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Dividing HeLa cells, LM
  • Venus flytrap pollen grains, SEM
  • Reconstructed CT scan of elephant foot
  • Menstrual blood, artwork title "Red Dress 2"
  • Thermogram of an infected middle finger, left hand.
  • Capsicum annuum 'Masquerade' Distribution: Central and South America. This ‘domesticated species’ originated from Mexico (although the centre of Capsicum evolution was much earlier and from Bolivia) and includes the bland salad peppers and the hot chilli peppers, of which capsaicin (sometimes called capsicain), from the lining of the inside of the chilli, is the main active ingredient. Chilli comes from the Aztec language of the Nahuatl people. It was reputedly introduced to Europe by Columbus in the mid-15th century, but was cultivated in Mexico since 4,000 BCE and used in cooking since 7,200 BCE. After its introduction to Europe, its cultivation very rapidly became world-wide. It appears first as a description (Bock, 1539) with the name teutschem Pfeffer. The first illustration, as Siliquastrum, appears in Historia Stirpes commentarii insignis (Fuchs, 1542). Fuchs did not realise it came from the Americas, as he identified it as a plant described by Pliny, Dioscorides and Avicenna and gave their uses of it. It appear in Dodoen's Cruydeboeck (1551) and Lyte's translation (1557) with the note that it is 'hot and drie in the third degree.' He recommended it for dressing meat, and noted that it 'warmeth the stomach' and was good for a sore throat, scrofula, and topically got rid of spots. Fuch's had reported these properties as being described by Avicenna, but what that plant was is unknown. Lindley (1838) wrote: 'It is employed in medicine, in combination with Cinchona in intermittent and lethargic affections, and also in atonic gout, dyspepsia accompanied by flatulence, tympanitis, paralysis etc. Its most valuable application appears however to be in cynanche maligna [=severe sore throat, with impending suffocation] and scarlatina maligna [=severe scarlet fever], used either as a gargle or administered internally.' However, its principal use medically has been in pain relief, applied locally for pain from muscle injury to post herpetic neuralgia. Capsaicin acts on the pain and heat sensing neurones to make them trigger the sensation of pain at body temperature. Repeated exposure to capsaicin depletes the neurotransmitter substance P that is used to perceive pain, so the relevant nerves no longer transmit the sensation of pain/heat from any cause. It is a banned substance in the equestrian events at the Olympics because of its ability to stop perception of pain. Capsaicin has been shown, experimentally, to kill cancer cells by attacking their mitochondria. Particular interest has concentrated on its ability to reduce the size of tumours of the pancreas and prostate. Various cultivars are used in cooking, and the strength (i.e. how hot they are) is measured in Scoville units. A standard chilli pepper used in England would be around 5,000 Scovilles, the hottest peppers are rated over one million Scoville units. Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Gloriosa superba L. Colchicaceae Gloriosa lily. Gloriosa rothschildiana is now a synonym. Climbing plant. Distribution: Southern Africa to Asia. National flower of Zimbabwe, state flower of Tamil Nadu. Contains colchicine which is poisonous, teratogenic and used for treating gout, Familial Mediterranean fever and Behcet's disease. Its toxicity limits its use as a anti-cancer agent. Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Mouse kidney
  • Kidney stone
  • Mitochondria at work
  • A man suffering from social anxiety disorder, illustration
  • Bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps) skeleton
  • Neurovascular unit, blood brain barrier, TEM
  • Dorsal root ganglion neurone from a mouse, LM
  • Cat stomach
  • Scadoxus multiflorus Raf. Amaryllidaceae. Blood Flower, Poison root, Fireball Lily. Distribution: Sub-Saharan Africa. The genus name is a concatenation of the Greek words, Sciadion meaning a parasol or umbel, and doxa meaning 'glorious'
  • Menstrual blood, artwork title "Drippy"
  • Mouse neuromuscular junctions
  • Chaperone protein
  • Euphorbia characias subsp. wulfenii
  • Imaginary Herbaria of Dr James Miranda Barry
  • Neuromuscular junctions and blood vessels
  • ATP sysnthase fields
  • Lobelia tupa L Campanulaceae Tabaco del Diablo [Devil's tobacco]. Distribution: Central Chile. Dried leaves are smoked as a hallucinogen by the Mapuchu Indians of Chile. It was also used as a respiratory stimulant. The genus was named after Matthias de L’Obel or Lobel, (1538–1616), Flemish botanist and physician to James I of England, author of the great herbal Plantarum seu Stirpium Historia (1576). Lobeline, a chemical from the plant has nicotine like actions and for a while lobeline was used to help people withdraw from smoking, but was found to be ineffective. Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Menstrual blood, artwork title "The Ribbon Rose"
  • Menstrual blood, artwork title "Ribbon 1"