In a convergence of circumstances, I was approached by Icon Learning Systems/Medimedia to edit a new textbook to be entitled Netter's Internal Medicine. I teamed with an incredibly knowledgeable internist at UNC (who is also Vice Chairman of the Department of Medicine), Dr. M. Andrew Greganti, to take on this task. The possibility of using the artwork of one of medicine's greatest teachers, the late Frank H. Netter, MD, in a textbook of internal medicine, provided the opportunity to make learning easier.

Rather than writing another exhaustive text, we focused on providing the essentials of clinical practice in a readable and understandable format, covering the most common clinical problems encountered by practicing internists. We were fortunate to work with terrific faculty at UNC who distilled reams of information into a coherent manner.

What really made the text unique, however, was the magic of Dr. Netter's unique medical illustrations. The old adage that a picture paints a thousand words was never truer. Netter's artwork has been a resource for physicians for decades, it was an inspiration to our authors and, we believe, will be extraordinarily helpful to our readers. We also had the great fortune to work with two worthy successors of Dr. Netter, John A. Craig, MD (incidentally a graduate of the University of Texas Medical Branch), and Carlos A.G. Machado, MD, who modernized some of Dr. Netter's illustrations and developed countless new illustrations.

It was not long ago, on this site, that Mary Decker Staples (Ruminations: "Healthcare Quality:The Coming Revolution") discussed the challenge of reducing medical errors. Since the Institute of Medicine's report on medical errors, a host of products have been developed in an effort to reduce medical errors. Borrowing from manufacturing practices, many of these approaches seek to "re-engineer" processes in both hospital and ambulatory settings. As she aptly described, these process improvements will greatly enhance medical care.