Medical illustration is a part of the wider field of biomedical communication and has the aim of explaining medical and scientific concepts through images.

Medical illustrators have a specific preparation in medical and scientific subjects. The images may represent processes belonging to the visible reality, like surgical procedures, or to the invisible reality, like molecular biology.

They are usually utilized in books, scientific papers, presentations, web pages.

Photographs, radiologic images and videos are fundamental references for the production of drawings. Medical illustrators often have good technical skills and may obtain autonomously the necessary photographs and videos.