David R. Purnell, MA, medical illustrator & owner, was the chief medical / surgical illustrator at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (Manhattan) for 19 years. In 1993 he founded NEW YORK WEST Medical Illustration Studio. David received his M.A. degree from the The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (The Department of Art as Applied to Medicine). His Masters thesis was, "The Hemodynamics of the Placenta: An Animated Study. The film was purchased by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.