Hunterian Museum reopens after a two year closure
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《英国医生杂志》
An extensive anatomical collection of human and animal specimens will be unveiled to the public when the Hunterian Museum reopens in modern new surroundings at the Royal College of Surgeons in London next week.
After being closed for two years for refurbishment, the collection of more than 3500 specimens, which originally belonged to the 18th century surgeon and anatomist John Hunter, will be formally opened by Princess Anne. The ?.2m ($6m; �4.6m) gallery, with brightly lit glass cases rising through two storeys to the ceiling, has been designed to recapture the "scale and spectacle" of Hunter抯 work, according to senior curator Simon Chaplin.
Regarded as the founder of scientific surgery, Hunter created a unique collection of almost 14 000 specimens spanning physiology, pathology, and natural history in his mission to investigate all organic life. Many items were acquired by body snatchers, although others were donated by families because of Hunter抯 efforts to make post mortem examinations acceptable.
After Hunter died in 1793, the museum was bought by the government and given to the custody of the Royal College of Surgeons. More than two thirds of it was destroyed in the second world war, and the remainder was first opened to the public in 1994. But the old fashioned cabinets and dingy setting attracted few visitors.
Now the college aims to use the collection to encourage public understanding of Hunter抯 influence and the history of surgery in general. "I think people are fascinated by human anatomy, and yet there are very few places where people can see the results of dissection," said Mr Chaplin.
Arranged according to Hunter抯 original scheme, the collection places together the colons of a human and a whale to show the affinities that led Hunter to expound pre-Darwinian evolutionary theory.
In the pathology series exhibits include examples of smallpox, syphilis, and gout, which were common in Georgian London, as well as organs belonging to household names such as the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Most prominent is the skeleton of Charles Byrne, the self styled "Irish giant," who was 2.3 m tall. Despite the fact that Mr Byrne begged to be buried in a lead coffin at sea, his corpse was stolen by Hunter. But its future place in the museum is uncertain. With remains of several Maori people having recently been returned to their descendants?communities, Mr Chaplin conceded that if a public consensus emerged for the burial of Byrne抯 body, that would be considered.
Other surgical curiosities include the carbolic spray used by William Lister, the first heart lung machine, and the brain of the mathematician Charles Babbage.
The Hunterian Museum is at 35-43 Lincoln抯 Inn Fields, London WC2, and will be open from 12 February, Mondays to Saturdays from 10 am to 5 pm. Entry is free.(London Wendy Moore)
After being closed for two years for refurbishment, the collection of more than 3500 specimens, which originally belonged to the 18th century surgeon and anatomist John Hunter, will be formally opened by Princess Anne. The ?.2m ($6m; �4.6m) gallery, with brightly lit glass cases rising through two storeys to the ceiling, has been designed to recapture the "scale and spectacle" of Hunter抯 work, according to senior curator Simon Chaplin.
Regarded as the founder of scientific surgery, Hunter created a unique collection of almost 14 000 specimens spanning physiology, pathology, and natural history in his mission to investigate all organic life. Many items were acquired by body snatchers, although others were donated by families because of Hunter抯 efforts to make post mortem examinations acceptable.
After Hunter died in 1793, the museum was bought by the government and given to the custody of the Royal College of Surgeons. More than two thirds of it was destroyed in the second world war, and the remainder was first opened to the public in 1994. But the old fashioned cabinets and dingy setting attracted few visitors.
Now the college aims to use the collection to encourage public understanding of Hunter抯 influence and the history of surgery in general. "I think people are fascinated by human anatomy, and yet there are very few places where people can see the results of dissection," said Mr Chaplin.
Arranged according to Hunter抯 original scheme, the collection places together the colons of a human and a whale to show the affinities that led Hunter to expound pre-Darwinian evolutionary theory.
In the pathology series exhibits include examples of smallpox, syphilis, and gout, which were common in Georgian London, as well as organs belonging to household names such as the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Most prominent is the skeleton of Charles Byrne, the self styled "Irish giant," who was 2.3 m tall. Despite the fact that Mr Byrne begged to be buried in a lead coffin at sea, his corpse was stolen by Hunter. But its future place in the museum is uncertain. With remains of several Maori people having recently been returned to their descendants?communities, Mr Chaplin conceded that if a public consensus emerged for the burial of Byrne抯 body, that would be considered.
Other surgical curiosities include the carbolic spray used by William Lister, the first heart lung machine, and the brain of the mathematician Charles Babbage.
The Hunterian Museum is at 35-43 Lincoln抯 Inn Fields, London WC2, and will be open from 12 February, Mondays to Saturdays from 10 am to 5 pm. Entry is free.(London Wendy Moore)