If you're searching for an image to supplement your writing or a presentation we recommend you search the following sources of free-to-use images. We've included sources of medical images as well as general images.
Anatomy of the Human Body (Gray's)
'The Bartleby.com edition of Gray’s Anatomy of the Human Body features 1,247 vibrant engravings—many in color—from the classic 1918 publication, as well as a subject index with 13,000 entries ranging from the Antrum of Highmore to the Zonule of Zinn'.
Centre for Better Ageing: Age positive image library
'We've launched the first free library showing ‘positive and realistic’ images of older people in a bid to challenge negative and stereotypical views of later life. The images show a more realistic depiction of ageing and old age – to provide alternatives to the commonly used pictures of ‘wrinkly hands’ or walking sticks. The library, which contains over 400 images and will be regularly updated, offers organisations a wide selection of images that avoid stereotypes associated with older people. Images in the library are free for use and cover various themes related to ageing such as health, community activity and employment'.
https://www.ageing-better.org.uk/news/age-positive-image-library-launched
https://ageingbetter.resourcespace.com/pages/search.php
Creative Commons
A not-for-profit gateway site designed to promote access to material published with a Creative Commons licence. The site enables copyright holders to upload material and publish it for public use with a Creative Commons licence.
Everystockphoto
'We are a search engine for free photos. These come from many sources and are license-specific. You can view a photo's license by clicking on the license icon, below and left of photos'.
Flickr and Flickr Commons
Limit your Flickr search to images published under a Creative Commons Licence, or try searching images in Flickr The Commons where cultural institutions that have reasonably concluded that a photograph is free of copyright restrictions have shared those photographs under a guideline called "no known copyright restrictions."
Free Images
'Free images is a high quality resource of digital stock photography for use by all. All images in our collection are free to use on websites, printed materials and anywhere you need photos for illustration and design use. Terms of image use apply'.
Freerange Stock
'Freerange Stock was formed with the goal to provide quality stock photos for commercial and non-commercial use. For free. We feel that free stock photos can be good photos. Freerange is an advertising revenue supported photographic community - photographers get paid when users click on the ads that appear next to their submissions'.
Genomics Edcucation Programme Image Library (HEE)
'The images featured here are all developed by the Genomics Education Programme. We have made these images available on a Creative Commons attribution-non-commercial (CC BY-NC) licence, which means you can download and use these images in your work as long as it’s for non-profit purposes and you credit us as the source. For more information, see our licensing page'.
Google Advanced Image Search
Scroll to the bottom of the search page to filter your results by 'usage rights' to view images that are free to use or share. Read more from Google about usage rights and how you can use the images you find.
Gratisography
'The world's quirkiest collection of free high-resolution pictures, comprised of the world's best, most creative images - photos you just won't find anywhere else. All completely free to download without copyright restrictions'.
HEAL (Health Education Assets Library) - University of Utah
'The Health Education Assets Library (HEAL) is a collection of over 22,000 freely available digital materials for health sciences education. The collection is now housed at the University of Utah J. Willard Marriott Digital Library'. Note re-use rights on each image.
Images from the History of Medicine
Provides online access to images from the historical collections of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. IHM includes image files of a wide variety of visual media including fine art, photographs, engravings, and posters that illustrate the social and historical aspects of medicine dating from the 15th to 21st century.
InjuryMap: human anatomy images and pictures (not photographs)
'This resource is aimed at helping anyone within the medical community with illustrations for articles, blogs, assignments, and posters. The high-quality vector images of the human anatomy are available to everyone who wants to use them, free of charge'.
https://www.injurymap.com/free-human-anatomy-illustrations
MedPix (U.S. National Library of Medicine)
'MedPix® is a free open-access online database of medical images, teaching cases, and clinical topics, integrating images and textual metadata including over 12,000 patient case scenarios, 9,000 topics, and nearly 59,000 images. Our primary target audience includes physicians and nurses, allied health professionals, medical students, nursing students and others interested in medical knowledge'.
NHS Health Check Image Bank
'Our royalty-free image bank contains 25 images which include a variety of models and settings, allowing you to select the shots which best represent your target audience. To maximise flexibility, we have designed each image so that it can be cropped to a either a portrait or landscape size. These images are subject to Crown copyright protection and may be used free of charge in the marketing of the NHS Health Check programme. Enquiries as to any other use should be sent to Public Health England'.
Pediatric Surgery Image Bank (Brown University)
'These pages contain more than 150 clinical, intraoperative and radiologic Images related to pediatric surgery. This "virtual atlas" is intended to help students, residents and fellows in their understanding of surgical conditions of the infant and child. These Images can be used for personal (not commercial) use, but a reference to their origin would be appreciated'.
Pexels
'Pexels is a free stock photo and video website and app that helps designers, bloggers, and everyone who is looking for visuals to find great photos and videos that can be downloaded and used for free. If you see a photo or video you like, simply download it for free (no strings attached!). While it's not required, we encourage you to give these contributors credit every time you use one of their photos—they always love to see how their photos and videos help people'.
Pixabay
Contains over 290,000 free photos, vectors and art illustrations. Allows users to find and share images free of copyrights. All pictures are published under Creative Commons. You can copy, modify, distribute and use the images, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission and without paying attribution. However, depicted content may still be protected by trademarks, publicity or privacy rights. Read more about how it works and the terms of use.
Public Health Image Library (US)
'Much of the information critical to the communication of public health messages is pictorial rather than text-based. Created by a Working Group at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the PHIL offers an organized, universal electronic gateway to CDC's pictures. We welcome public health professionals, the media, laboratory scientists, educators, students, and the worldwide public to use this material for reference, teaching, presentation, and public health messages'.
Wellcome Images
A large collection of images with themes ranging from medical and social history to contemporary healthcare and biomedical science. All images are available on demand in digital form. The Biomedical Collection holds over 40,000 high-quality images from the clinical and biomedical sciences. Selected from the UK's leading teaching hospitals and research institutions, it covers disease, surgery, general healthcare, sciences from genetics to neuroscience including the full range of imaging techniques. Low resolution images available free of charge for non-commercial use. Check the conditions of use.
Whole Brain Atlas (Harvard)
Images of the brain in health and disease.
Wikimedia Commons
A database of 24,024,205 freely usable media files to which anyone can contribute. Check and follow the Conditions of Use.
Medical Image Repositories
BUFVC (British Universities Film and Video Council): Moving Image Gateway: Biomedical
The Moving Image Gateway (MIG) is a service that collects together websites that relate to moving images and sound.
Cancer Imaging Archive
Contains medical images of cancer available for public download.
Find medical images content you can share, use and remix.
Digital Collections: NLM
The National Library of Medicine's free online resource of biomedical books and still and moving images - all content is freely available and, unless otherwise indicated, in the public domain.
K4Health Photoshare
Thousands of international health and development images - free for nonprofit and educational use.
Medetec Wound Database
Free stock pictures of wounds.
A list of Medical image repositories by the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health.
MedPix
MedPix® is a fully web-enabled cross-platform database, integrating images and textual information. Our primary target audience includes physicians and nurses, allied health professionals, medical students, nursing students and others.
MedPix: MedPix® is a free open-access online database of medical images, teaching cases, and clinical topics. Its run by National institute of health
NUY collection of medical images
Collections of public domain, Creative-Commons licensed, and copyright-protected medical images for use in professional and academic presentations, and teaching.
Openi
Open access images from NIH, USA.
National Library of Medicine enables search and retrieval of abstracts and images (including charts, graphs, clinical images, etc.) from the open-source literature, and biomedical image collections.
Paeditrics Medical imaging Nova Southeastern University
Paeditrics images.
Public Health Image Library
A CDC repository - images are free and copyright cleared (with few exceptions)
If you're searching for an image to supplement your writing or a presentation, we've included sources of medical images as well as general images
SICAS (Swiss Institute for Computer Assisted Surgery) Medical Image Repository - a Virtual Skeleton Database
A collection of medical images.
Over 3000 free medical images to illustrate publications and powerpoint presentations.
Wellcome Images
Many images are vailable to download under a Creative Commons Attribution Only licence.
This is a collection of Videos, Journals, eBooks, Procedures for Clinical Skills and Simulation by your Library Team.
Macleod's Clinical Examination
- Managing clinical encounters with patients
- General aspects of history taking
- General aspects of examination
- The cardiovascular system
- The respiratory system
- The gastrointestinal system
- The nervous system
- The visual system
- The ear, nose and throat
- The endocrine system
- The reproductive system
- The renal system
- The musculoskeletal system
- The skin, hair and nails
- Babies and Children
- Patients with mental illness and learning disability
- The frail patient
- The deteriorating patient
- 19.The dying patient
- 20.Reaching and communicating a diagnosis
- 21.Adapting skills for practice
- 22.Preparing for assessment
SOURCES