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Sir Richard Faull praised Carman for the integral role he played in the development of the human anatomy laboratory and programme at the University of Auckland School of Medicine. “We still have a fantastic human anatomy laboratory…which has really grown out of John Carman’s drive to create the best human anatomy lab in the world.” Headlines 7 extended beyond the department. In those early years he put his interest in engineering and functional design to practical use, playing a leading role in the management and design of the new Medical School buildings, which are still there today. Carman inspired his students, faculty and colleagues as Head of Department of Anatomy at the University of Auckland. He made great contributions to the faculty and university in his endeavours of anatomy and science and was a leading mind in the research that the Auckland Bioengineering Institute was conducting on the engineering principles of the form and function of the human skeleton. His input and expertise were later recognized and honoured by the Bioengineering Institute when they established their annual “John Carman Prize” in 2010, awarded to an individual for excellence in the biomedical research field. He contributed internationally with many publications and moulded the Department of Anatomy into a well- recognized world-class department. Many learned from Carman how to communicate science through clear and expressive writing, concise and accurate yet never dry or stilted. He would remind everyone that where understanding fails, “words rush in”. Throughout his career Carman was also an integral part of many committees and varied research interests until his retirement in 1988. He was one of the five original minds behind the development of the Foundation when Professor Chapman first proposed the idea and was one of the very first Council members. Chapman, Wrightson, Carman, Glasgow and Cant all played integral parts in the development of the purpose of the Foundation and all agreed that to help those living with a neurological condition, a better understanding must be pursued through research. This core value continues to be upheld to this day. In 1988 Carman retired from the headship of the Department of Anatomy after 20 years. But before then he and Will Richardson, a Renaissance Latinist in the Auckland Classics department, had begun a co-authored translation of the Latin “De Humani Corporis Fabrica” written by the Belgian anatomist Andreas Vesalius published in 1543. Their work had recently been published in English, and Nature reviewed the five volumes, saying that it was “one of the published, scientific and literary achievements of the decade”. Professor John Carman was passionate about anatomy and the human body. He was revolutionary in the shaping and formation of the University of Auckland Department of Anatomy; and his legacy continues with every student, clinician and researcher that takes an anatomy class throughout their careers. 1 https://fmhs-history.blogs.auckland.ac.nz/ foundation-staff/ Photo courtesy of The University of Auckland