Hunterian Museum, London

14/05/2026

This remarkably realistic wax model of a human brain dates from the 1800s.

Wax models like this were essential for teaching medical students, acting as accurate and durable alternatives to real human tissue.

This one was made by the self-trained sculptor Joseph Towne (1806-79). He was the model maker at Guy’s Hospital, London, for 53 years, and made over a thousand hyper-realistic wax models depicting anatomical structures and pathological conditions.

Although Towne worked closely with medical staff to record clinical cases and dissections, he was very secretive about his techniques. He worked alone and reportedly blocked the keyhole to his workshop room with wax to prevent spying.

The majority of Towne's works remain at the Gordon Museum of Pathology at King's College London.

Credit
Wax model of a human brain, cross-sectioned, by Joseph Towne, 1826-79. Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons of England. RCSAC/214

28/04/2026

The exhibition ‘Insight: Portraits of Women in Surgery’ welcomed over 5000 visitors before closing last week.

If you missed out on the exhibition, or would like to revisit some of its inspiring stories, the portraits are now available to explore as a new online exhibition – https://hunterianmuseum.org/online-exhibitions/insight-portraits-of-women-in-surgery

Thank you to everyone who visited, and to all the surgeons and photographers who contributed!

22/04/2026

Tourniquets are used to reduce or stop the flow of blood to a limb. They might be used during surgery to create a bloodless operating field, or in some emergency situations to control catastrophic bleeding.

The arrival of the Petit tourniquet in 1718 made the control of blood loss from a limb much simpler. Using a screw to tighten and loosen the bandage, it could be held without assistance and relaxed or released with greater ease. It was invented by Jean-Louis Petit (1674–1760), a French surgeon.

Watch Alice, Hunterian Museum Curator, to learn more.

Credit
1. Petit Spiral screw tourniquet by Arnold, mid 1800s. Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons. RCSIC/I 32.6
2. ‘Illustrations of the Great Operations of Surgery’ by Charles Bell, London, 1821. From the Library of the Royal College of Surgeons of England

[In this video, Alice addresses the camera while standing in front of a tourniquet on a white surface. The tourniquet consists of a light brown circular bandage with a metal screw mechanism and leather pad. Alice has short brown hair and wears a blue check cardigan and purple gloves.]

02/04/2026

Going on an egg hunt this weekend? 🐣

If you find any that look like this be sure to leave them alone — they are definitely not chocolate, they are grass snake eggs!

Grass snakes are the only UK snake species that lay eggs. They are one of three species of snake native to the UK, along with the adder and the smooth snake, which is very rare. Grass snakes usually lay their eggs in a sheltered location within rotting vegetation, like a compost heap.

These eggs are from John Hunter's specimen collection and are over 200 years old. Grass snakes lay between 10 and 40 eggs at a time, so it is likely that these were all taken from the same clutch of eggs. They were preserved shortly after being laid.

Credit
Grass snake eggs, 1760–93, Hunterian Collection. RCSHC/3304

25/03/2026

These are 'Browne Sterilizer Tubes' from the 1950s. They were used to confirm that surgical equipment had been properly sterilised, turning from red to green once they had been exposed to enough heat for long enough to kill all the bacteria.

The package's design also played a role — the instructions read:

"The colour of the liquid in the control tube, after sterilization, should be as dark a green as the green spot on the package"

The tubes are now all green, despite probably never being used — this might be because, at 70 years old, they are probably past their 'use by' date.

Browne Sterilizer Tubes, by Albert Browne Ltd., 1950. Hunterian Museum, Royal College of Surgeons of England, RCSIC/X 125

20/03/2026

Upcoming Event
April 16 2026

https://hunterianmuseum.org/events/fragile-creatures-live-at-the-hunterian-museum

Singer-songwriter Hannah Rose Platt brings her unmissable musical journey through history to the Hunterian Museum, honouring the defiant, unbreakable spirit of women across the centuries.

Turning the spotlight on the mistreatment of women in the history of medicine, the performance features stories from the trailblazing Edinburgh Seven, the first women to formally study medicine in Britain, to the ancient Greeks and their beliefs about bearing children.

Ticket holders will have the opportunity to visit the Hunterian Museum prior to the performance.

Fragile Creatures: Live at the Hunterian Museum is part of Hunterian Provocations, an ongoing programme, covering critical themes of decolonisation; repatriation; sustainability; ethics of display; representation of lived experience, and inclusion and diversity in the history of surgery.

23/02/2026

Congratulations to Julie Kohls, Orthopaedic Surgeon, who is one of 31 women consultants featured in a new exhibition at the Royal College of Surgeons 💙

The Portraits of Women in Surgery exhibition celebrates female surgical consultants and aims to inspire more women into surgery. It also acknowledges the continuing inequalities within the profession – while there are now more female doctors than male, Julie is one of only 17% of consultant surgeons who are women in the UK.

Julie’s portrait was captured by Ashley Prytherch, our Medical Illustration Manager.

Read more: https://ow.ly/5ren50Yhssb

19/02/2026

John Hunter was so proud of this specimen that he is said to have displayed it in his dining room, rather than in his museum with the rest of the collection.

It is an unravelled epididymis – the long, tightly coiled tube that stores and transports s***m – from the testicle of a domestic pig (or boar). Hunter injected the specimen with mercury, a silvery liquid metal now known to be toxic, to highlight its structure.

Only a few specimens were framed in this way, suggesting that Hunter was particularly pleased with this one.

Credit
Boar’s epididymis (tube which stores and transports s***m) injected with mercury and framed for display, 1760–93, Hunterian Collection. RCSHC/DP 577

17/02/2026

Sense: The Creativity of Anatomy

⏰Thursday 5 March, 7:00pm
🏦(Museum access from 5.30pm)
🎫£8

An evening of conversation and creative exploration hosted by Professor Sophie Scott CBE, neuroscientist and comedian with: Annie Cattrell, visual artist; Grainne McKenna, consultant neurosurgeon and Christine Kydd, a musician and voice coach who has taught herself to sing again following major surgery to treat cancer.

Expert perspectives on how anatomy shapes creativity, followed by an audience Q&A and a special performance by Christine.

To find out more and book a ticket, follow the link below:
https://hunterianmuseum.org/events/sense-the-anatomy-of-creativity

Sense by Annie Cattrell, is on permanent public display at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, purchased through grants from the Art Fund and Arts Council England: V&A Purchase Grant Fund and National Lottery.

16/02/2026

16/02/2026

📣 Open Call for Home-Learners in London! 📣

The learning team at the Hunterian Museum are planning a new, hands-on museum workshop, and would love your input to help shape it.

The workshops are being designed especially for home-educated families with children age 5-15, with activities inspired by the National Curriculum, GCSEs, and Technical Awards.

Please take a few minutes to complete this survey and help design a new, hands-on museum workshop for home learners:

https://forms.office.com/e/ySC2JXh13H

Your responses will directly inform how the workshop is designed, helping us create workshops that are useful, engaging, and relevant for your families