The cover of Patrick White's *The Vivisector*

April 15, 2009 1:46 PM

What medical procedure (assuming it is a real one) is depicted on the cover of the Penguin Classics edition of Patrick White's novel The Vivisector? (This link goes to the Amazon page for the book. Not for the squeamish.) Try as I might, I can't make much sense of this image.
posted by Prospero to Media & Arts (5 answers total)

Do you have a physical copy of the book? Somewhere there's usually a cover credit, like on the copyright page or the back of the book. That should find you a title and an artist and get you well on your way to an answer.
posted by phoenixy at 1:54 PM on April 15, 2009

Best answer: Explanation and a diagram for you here. Basically it's surgery to correct the alignment of the eye.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 1:54 PM on April 15, 2009

Woo! I had one of those.
posted by methylsalicylate at 1:59 PM on April 15, 2009

Response by poster: And AskMe comes through in eight minutes. Thanks, le morte de bea arthur.
posted by Prospero at 2:00 PM on April 15, 2009

I had one of those when I was still a baby. Good thing I wasn't too smart yet, or I would have flipped out just thinking about it.
posted by matildaben at 2:19 PM on April 15, 2009