Henry Vandyke Carter took medical courses at St George's Hospital in London and earned a Bachelor's of Medicine and a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of London.
He began work for Henry Gray and others in 1852, and in 1856-7 he drew the illustrations for the seminal work Gray's Anatomy. Alongside the success of the book, the excellence of its illustrations were highly praised by doctors, surgeons, students and teachers.
In retirement, Carter was appointed "Honorary Deputy Surgeon-General and Honorary Surgeon to the Queen".