Bernardino Genga was born in Mondolfo in the Duchy of Urbino and died in Rome, where he practiced surgery in the Hospital of Santo Spirito in Sassia and San Giacomo degli Incurabili.

This work has been called the “first book devoted entirely to surgical anatomy” (Garrison-Morton 384) and remained a widely used manual for at least fifty years.

In the tract appended to this work, Genga showed himself to be one of the first Italians to accept Harvey's theory on the circulation of the blood.

A year after his death was published the beautiful Anatomia per Uso et Intelligenza del Disegno, which consisted of renderings of his anatomical preparations by the artist Charles Errard (1606–1689), director of the Accademia, and most likely engraved by François Andriot (died 1704).

Anatomia per Uso et Intelligenza del Disegno consists of 59 copperplate engravings of text and illustrations printed on one side only.