Illustrations that have commented on medicine and society have evolved over the last 150 years from being judgmental and harsh towards racial and ethnic minorities to now emphasizing the positive aspects of diversity.

Though body size can be altered with environmental or behavioral changes, anatomic shape, which appears to be genetically determined, cannot be changed except by surgery, trauma, or illness.

A photograph from the first AMA House of Delegates meeting in 1901 highlights the issues of physician demographics and whether the profession has adequately addressed diversity in the profession.