LibGuides: Medical Education: Image Banks

Image Resources - Subscription

Many of the Medical Library's subscribed databases allow for the use of their images (photographs, charts, graphs, etc.) for nonprofit teaching purposes.

AccessMedicine This link opens in a new window
Image use guidelines: Faculty may display, download, and reproduce print or electronic copies of images for instructional purposes. Faculty may not modify or remove any proprietary or copyright notices included in the images.
ClinicalKey This link opens in a new window
Image use guidelines: Users may print or download images for their personal, non-commercial use (including teaching) provided that all copyright and other proprietary notices are kept intact. You need to register for a free ClinicalKey account and be logged in to access the images.
To download book chapter PDFs, please log in or register for a free account. NOTE: Vendor recommends updating to most recent version of browser.
IMAIOS (e-Anatomy) This link opens in a new window
e-Anatomy is an anatomical database providing more than 3,000 images of the human body. It provides cross-sectional, gross, and radiological anatomy derived from various types of medical imaging, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) scans.
Netter Reference This link opens in a new window
Image use guidelines: Faculty may incorporate images into teaching materials, including both print and electronic handouts. You may not modify or remove the copyright information or Netter logo from the images.
Thieme Teaching Assistant: Anatomy This link opens in a new window
Image use guidelines: Images may be used for personal and classroom use only and may not be posted on an open web site. Please consult the Terms of Use on the website for more details.
UpToDate This link opens in a new window
Image use guidelines: Includes thousands of full-color graphics and charts that can be printed or used as slides for teaching purposes. Can also be used to create handouts for lectures.
VisualDX This link opens in a new window
Image Use Guidelines: Includes thousands of images - of which more than 28% are of skin types IV, V, and VI - that can be used (copy/paste) for teaching purposes.

Image Resources - Free

There are a number of government and other image banks that are covered by Creative Commons / Openverse licenses. Be sure to respect the limitations of the specific licenses and to cite appropriately.

Creative Commons / Openverse
Use the search feature to locate images with Creative Commons licenses on such services as Google and Flickr. You should always verify that the work is actually under a CC license by following the link.
MedPix / National Library of Medicine
Free open-access medical image database hosted by the National Library of Medicine. It contains more than 59,000 images from 12,000 cases, including radiology, pathology, ophthalmology, etc. The teaching file cases are peer-reviewed.
NEI Media Library
From the National Eye Institute. Materials are not copyrighted and are free for non-commercial scientific and education use. Requires the following acknowledgement: "Courtesy: National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health."
NIH Image Bank
Contains images from the institutes and centers of the NIH. Images are in the public domain and may be used, linked, or reproduced without further permission. Credit must be given to the National Institutes of Health/Department of Health and Human Services.
Open-i
Open Access Biomedical Image Search Engine from the NIH and National Library of Medicine provides access to images from PubMed Central articles, chest x-rays with radiology reports, and orthopedic illustrations.
Public Health Image Library (PHIL)
Searchable databases of the CDC's pictures. Contains both public domain and copyrighted images. Images marked as public domain are freely available for educational purposes as long as you credit the original institution and contributor. You will need to get permission to use the copyrighted images.
Wellcome Images
Large collection covering a wide variety of topics, including more than 40,000 high-quality images from the clinical and biomedical sciences. Images are freely available for download for personal use or academic teaching under Creative Commons licenses.
Youth in Health: Inclusive Stock Photography Collection
Made available by U of M's Adolescent Health Initiative, this collection of stock photos was developed to showcase adolescents’ unique identities and experiences in the health care system. Photos feature young people of varying genders, sexual orientations, races, ethnicities, religions, socio-economic statuses, and abilities. The photos are available for reuse under CC BY-ND license. Suggested credit, “Youth In Health: Inclusive Stock Photography Collection. Adolescent Health Initiative. Heather Nash Photography. 2021”