Anatomical Museum, Teviot Place, Edinburgh, The University of Edinburgh

09/04/2021

Here are the answers to our first set of Anatomical anagrams posted on the 2nd April.

Here are the answers to our first set of Anatomical anagrams posted on the 2nd April.

06/04/2021

An ‘exploded’ skull

This young horse skull has been prepared to show an ‘exploded’ view of the bones. This technique works best on young specimens because the sutures of each bone had not yet fused together. Donated by a veterinary surgeon, it is a superb example of the quality of teaching specimens acquired by the museum for teaching anatomy in the late 19th century.

Anatomical Museum (Zoology) 3236

04/04/2021

The mystery egg!

The Anatomical Museum collection holds a single bird egg but sadly no accompanying donor details or even a date of acquisition! What we can tell you that it measures 11cm long by 6cm at its widest diameter and being an off white colour, it is most likely a species of Swan.

Anatomical Museum (Zoology) 5038

02/04/2021

The Anatomical Museum Anagram Challenge

Suitable for all the family. Inspired by the displays in the museum this new puzzle contains 20 words for you to unscramble. Some of the words are anatomical terms and others are zoology specimens on display in the museum. Can you unscramble them?

The answers will be posted on Friday 9th April at 10am.

01/04/2021

Hemlock (Conium maculatum), 19th century

Springtime is the catalyst for plant growth and the germination of seeds. The Pharmacology collection holds examples of plants grown for commercial use or gathered from the wild and processed for medicinal treatments or have a natural poison.

Growing rapidly in spring throughout Europe, these examples of hemlock were collected from Arthur’s Seat (the extinct volcano in Holyrood Park, Edinburgh, Scotland) in 1835.

Hemlock contains a deadly alkaloid which, if eaten, results in respiratory and kidney failure. In 399 BC the Greek philosopher Socrates was put on trial and sentenced to death for corruption and impiety. He chose to drink a deadly mixture containing hemlock.

Anatomical Museum (Pharmacology) 5978

25/03/2021

“Mad as a March Hare”

This descriptive phrase derives from the frenzied activity of male hares in spring when they stand on their hind legs and use their front paws to box each other to compete for females.

Native to Europe, Africa, North America and Asia, hares have a lightweight skeleton and long limbs for running at speeds of up to 45mph (72 km) to escape predators. They have powerful pair of incisors and a second pair of smaller incisors to aid biting coarse foodstuffs such as grasses.

Our hare skeleton featured here is a comparative anatomy skeleton once used for teaching in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Anatomical Museum (Zoology) 3350

16/03/2021

Thorax slice

This model is one of a set of 19th century plaster casts of the sectioned body painted in lifelike colours and used to teach medics how to visualise the body in 3D and the relationships between anatomical structures.

You are viewing the thorax in the horizontal plane and from underneath at the point of the armpits. The lungs are coloured grey, the great vessels of the heart are the ‘tubes’ in the centre, the bones are cream with orange speckles to simulate marrow and the muscles in red/pink.

Anatomical museum object number 3175.

15/03/2021

Did you complete our crossword posted on Saturday 6th March? Here are the answers if you need them!

06/03/2021

ANATOMICAL MUSEUM WEEKEND CROSSWORD CHALLENGE

Here is the latest crossword crossword. We have graded it as easy to medium and suitable for all the family. The clues are inspired by the historic collections on display in the museum and the topics of anatomy, phrenology and zoology. Have fun!

The answers will be posted Monday 15th March at 10am.

05/03/2021

Psst! Look out for our new crossword being posted tomorrow at 10am. It's graded easy to medium and suitable for all the family.

03/03/2021

Science Insights

Science Insights Online 2021

The University of Edinburgh's cross-college work experience week, "Science Insights Online", will take place again this summer during the last week of July.

This is a work experience week for 60x current S5 Biology and Chemistry pupils to find out more if they're interested in studying biological, biomedical and animal sciences at university. Applications will close Monday 26 April.

Find out more here: http://www.scienceinsights.ed.ac.uk

03/03/2021

Curiosities from the collection

The Anatomical Museum holds a number of objects which can only be described as curiosities and this animal vertebrae is a good example. By cleverly observing the natural shape of the bone, the vertebrae, probably the seventh cervical (neck) vertebrae of a cow, has been painted to imitate the features of a clergyman.

Anatomical Museum Object number 1577

19/02/2021

Women in Science and Medicine Crossword ANSWERS

How well did you do with our challenging Women in Science and Medicine crossword posted on the Thursday 11th February 2021? Here are the answers.

11/02/2021

Anatomical Museum Crossword Challenge - Women in Science and Medicine

Today is International Day of Women and Girls in Science. You can find out more here: https://www.un.org/en/events/women-and-girls-in-science-day/

To mark the day we thought you might like our newest crossword. It's rated challenging! How many of these pioneering women have you heard of? Have fun finding out who they were and what they did whilst completing our first crossword for 2021.

The answers will be posted on Friday 19th February at 10am.

28/01/2021

Hanged on this day 28th January in 1829 - William Burke, murderer

The skeleton of William Burke resides in the Anatomical Museum. In 1828, Burke and his accomplice William Hare murdered 16 individuals in the old town of Edinburgh and sold the fresh corpses to Dr Robert Knox, a popular and charismatic extra-mural anatomy lecturer.

Burke’s trial took place on Christmas Eve 1828, but there was little hard evidence to convict the pair and so William Hare was offered his freedom if he testified against Burke. Burke faced three charges of murder but was convicted of one, that of Marjory Campbell (married name Mrs Mary Docherty).

On 28th January 1829 William Burke was hanged in the Lawnmarket on the Royal Mile, Edinburgh and the following day publicly dissected by Dr Alexander Monro, Professor of Anatomy in the Anatomy Theatre at Old College, University of Edinburgh.

You can read original newspaper cuttings on the trial of Burke and Hare from the National Library of Scotland,

https://digital.nls.uk/broadsides/view/?id=15228&criteria=burke

25/01/2021

Edinburgh Medical School

https://fb.watch/3eCL1ZNdqD/

Wishing everyone a Happy Burns Night!

Burns Night is a celebration of the life and poetry of Scotland's National Bard, Robert Burns.

Whilst many of us can't celebrate together in person this year, we hope you enjoy our online tribute to Rabbie Burns, performed by some of our fabulous students and staff.

Enjoy your haggis, neeps and tatties tonight folks!

25/01/2021

Robert Burns: The remarkable night a surgeon robbed the National Bard's grave and stole his skull - The Courier

It's Burns night!

Today is the birthday of the Scottish Bard Robert Burns (1759 - 96). The tradition of ‘Burn’s night’ is celebrated by an evening of poetry recitals and a ‘Burns supper’ of haggis, neeps and tatties.

Here's an interesting tale of the skull of Robert Burns in The Courier and featuring the skull cast held in our collections.

https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/scotland/1861537/robert-burns-the-remarkable-night-a-surgeon-robbed-the-national-bards-grave-and-stole-his-skull/

With Burns Night on January 25, Michael Alexander hears about the remarkable night in 1834 when a surgeon robbed Robert Burns’ grave and stole his skull in the name of science.

09/11/2020

Monday at the Museum: The Anatomy Flannelgraph

Did you have ‘fuzzy felt’ figures when you were growing up, perhaps on topics like ‘on the farm’ or ‘at the seaside’? The Anatomical Museum has an anatomy version!

Made in the 1950s for teachers, each part is made of felt and can be stuck temporarily to teach other. Here is the front view of the skeleton which measures about 60cm (27inches) long and here is a selection of the internal organs that can be placed in position. The instruction leaflet describes the flannelgraph as “cheap and portable and full potential will only be achieved by a combination of skilful handling and artistic imagination”!

06/11/2020

Anatomical Museum Weekend Word Search Challenge – The Brain

Here is our latest wordsearch for the first weekend in November. There are 40 anatomical terms relating to the brain and hiding somewhere in the grid. Can you find them?

02/11/2020

How well did you do with our Tricky Anatomy Crossword Challenge posted on the Friday 24th October? Today you can find out as here are the answers.

24/10/2020

The Anatomical Museum Weekend Crossword Challenge – Tricky anatomy 3

For all you anatomy keen folks out there here is our latest
crossword and this time it is ‘medium to challenging’. Just to keep it interesting you will find we have thrown in a few medical and anatomy history questions too! Have fun!

The answers will be posted on Monday 2nd November at 10am.

09/10/2020

Suitable for all here is this weekend's wordsearch and it is all about bones so feel free to print and share with friends, work mates or family. Included are a few bony conditions that may be a little unfamiliar so you may get the urge to search a handy medical book or a suitable web page to find out more! Have fun!

07/10/2020

This wax moulage shows the chest of a person with a rare skin condition known as Devergie’s Disease, Lichen Ruber Acuminatus or Pityriasis Rubra Pilaris.

First described in 1859 by French dermatologist Marie-Guillaume-Alphonse Devergie (1798 – 1879) medical specialists today recognise five variants with this one usually described as ‘Classic Adult 1’ and the little red spots characterised as follicular hyperkeratosis.

The wooden base is signed and dated ‘A R’ 1909 by the artist and it is thought to be a cast from a patient in the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.

(Object 7163 – Anatomy Collection)

05/10/2020

How well did you do with our Shapes and Colours of Anatomy Crossword Challenge posted on the Friday 24th September? Today you can find out as here are the answers!

27/09/2020

Prof Gillingwater Inaugural Lecture Oct 2018

We end our virtual #DoorsOpenDay weekend with a lecture from our Anatomy Professor Tom Gillingwater. We at the museum are fortunate to have amazing colleagues like Tom who are not only teaching the next generation of medical professionals, but also undertaking some incredibly important research themselves. Find out more here:

Recording of inaugural lecture Monday 29 October 2018.Professor Tom Gillingwater"Diary of a 21st century anatomist: standing on the shoulders of giants"

27/09/2020

Georgi Gill Poetry Reading for Museum Week 2020

#DoorsOpenDay at the museum continues! Georgi Gill is our first ever poet in residence. A mere thing like a global pandemic and a University lockdown, didn't stop Georgi from working with us, in fact she created her own Anatomical Museum in her home! In this film you can hear from Georgi and listen to one of her poems

Georgi Gill, the Anatomical Museum's Poet in Residence, reads three poems for #MuseumWeek 2020.

27/09/2020

Medicine in the City - Google Arts & Culture

Welcome to day two of our #DoorsOpenDay weekend! We kick off today with some really exciting news. We, along with our colleagues at Lothian Health Services Archive, are delighted to launch our 'Google Arts & Culture' project, where you can find out more about the history of medicine in Edinburgh and marvel at some of the awesome objects in our museum

500 years of medical teaching in Edinburgh

26/09/2020

Making a murderer_the story of John Howison_FINAL

Many of you will have heard of William Burke and maybe have even seen him on #DoorsOpenDay but there is another skeleton in the museum which belongs to a man called John Howison. Howison, like Burke, was found guilty of murder and dissected after his ex*****on. You can listen to his story here

A podcast about how the University of Edinburgh, the City of Edinburgh Council and Cramond Heritage Trust collaborated on a project which used forensic techniques to re-create the face of 19th century Edinburgh murderer John Howison..

26/09/2020

One of the main reasons many people have for visiting our museum on #DoorsOpenDay is to see the skeleton of William Burke, who was hanged at Edinburgh on 28th January, 1829

During the 19th century anatomical study became increasingly popular. Teaching of anatomy was not regulated and many students attended ‘extra mural’ anatomy classes. Anatomists like Dr Robert Knox at Surgeons’ Square would guarantee a body for students to dissect. At a time when the legal supply of cadavers was heavily restricted, anatomists (both at this University and elsewhere) often resorted to using bodies that had been dug up from graveyards by ‘resurrection men’ for their lessons. William Burke and William Hare were aware of this illicit trade but were never grave robbers. The duo killed by asphyxiation at least 16 people in less than 12 months in order to supply bodies to Dr Knox. When they were finally caught, Hare turned ‘King’s Evidence’ against Burke and was let off. Burke was sentenced to death and in a final irony, his body was then dissected by Prof Alexander Monro tertius and displayed in the Anatomical Museum.

‘Your body should be publicly dissected and anatomized. And I trust, that if it is ever customary to preserve skeletons, yours will be preserved, in order that posterity may keep in remembrance of your atrocious crimes’
Lord Justice-Clerk, David Boyle at the trial of William Burke, 1829

26/09/2020

Kids & Families Crossword Challenge: Easy to medium.

Here is our second crossword for this virtual #DoorsOpenDay heritage weekend. This one is aimed at kids and families. Have fun!

The answers will be posted on Monday 5th October at 11am

26/09/2020

Crossword Challenge: The Colour and Shape of Anatomy

To start the virtual #DoorsOpenDay weekend here’s a fiendish crossword that's going to really test your anatomy knowledge. The subject of anatomy uses a specific language for describing the features of the body and uses colours to highlight anatomical structures to aid teaching and learning. How well do you know this language? Have fun!

The answers will be posted on Monday 5th October at 10am

26/09/2020

An introduction to the University's Anatomical Museum

Sadly this #DoorsOpenDay you can't come and see us in person, but over today and tomorrow we'll be posting content about the museum and our collection. First up, here's a little introduction to the museum itself...

The collection of the Anatomical Museum consists of approximately 12,000 objects, which illustrate the story of 300 years of teaching Anatomy at the Universi...

25/09/2020

Cleaning the whale jaw bones at Teviot Place

Get ready!

Our Heritage Weekend is going to be virtual and so is our preparation! Here’s a vintage clip of Museum and Collections Assistant, Ruth Pollitt and Curator, Malcolm MacCallum busy vacuuming dust from the whale jaw bones in the foyer at Teviot Place.

Look out for posts this Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th September with stories about our collections and the museum.

23/09/2020

Virtual Heritage Weekend

This Saturday 26th September would have been our museum open day as part of Heritage Open Doors Days across Edinburgh but this year it will be a little bit different. The Anatomical Museum will remain closed but we will posting regularly here over the weekend. If you want to find out what other venues are doing for this year’s virtual event you can find more information here;

https://www.cockburnassociation.org.uk/doorsopendays/

23/09/2020

Edinburgh Medical School

Yesterday, we unveiled a new artwork to commemorate the Edinburgh Seven, the first women to matriculate onto a degree programme at a British University.

It is a re-imagining of the 1632 Rembrandt painting ‘The Anatomy Lesson of Nicolaes Tulp’, a copy of which hangs in our Department of Anatomy. (The original is in the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague).

This new version was created by photographer Laurence Winram and features the seven present day students who collected honorary degrees on behalf of the Edinburgh Seven at a special ceremony last year.

The image proudly hangs in the Sophia Jex-Blake common room in the Chancellor’s Building at Edinburgh BioQuarter. Be sure to check it out next time you are passing!
Anatomical Museum, Teviot Place, Edinburgh, The University of Edinburgh Mauritshuis Laurence Winram Photography