Pickled Penis anyone? Just one of the many specimens you can find here.
Look up free museums in London and the Hunterian Museum will pop up and for a good reason! Named after the 18th century surgeon and anatomist John Hunter (1728-1793), it's located at the Royal College of Surgeons of England’s headquarters at Lincoln’s Inn Fields in central London.
Apart from pickled penis's, the museum includes a display of over 2,000 specimens, alongside instruments, equipment, models, drawings and detailed notebooks (this guy liked notebooks even more than I do) covering the history of surgery from ancient times to the latest robot-assisted operations.
It is a fascinating place. Some slightly morbid specimens, some sad, some weird and some grotesque, but this guy took his work seriously and dedicated his life to studying human anatomy and meticulously documenting everything - in those notebooks. And he had lovely handwriting.
On the website, the following is noted and therefore I will respect the request to not include any close up photos of the specimens. You'll just have to go and see them yourselves as it really is a very interesting place.
Hunterian Museum
The Hunterian Museum contains human remains, including fetuses. Viewing human remains can evoke powerful emotions which some visitors can understandably find difficult. Visitors should consider whether visiting the Hunterian is right for them.
While photography in the Hunterian Museum is permitted for own use, all visitors are asked, out of respect, not to take close up photographs of human remains or post images of human remains on social media or other public digital channels.
Many of the preparations of human tissue on display in the Hunterian Museum were gathered before modern standards of consent were established. We recognise the debt owed to those people - named and unnamed - who in life and death have helped to advance medical knowledge.
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