Edinburgh Anatomical Museum
A special collection of unique objects that showcases several centuries of the University's achievements in the medical field.
Since its establishment in 1583, The University of Edinburgh has had several notable graduates pass through its doors, including such luminaries as; Robert Liston (1808), Charles Darwin (1825), and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1881). These gentlemen, among many others, had studied under the school of medicine, which was offered at the university since 1726. Part of their curriculum to the UK’s 6th oldest institution of higher learning, would have been to take advantage of the learning tools now collected in the school’s anatomy museum.
Though this current iteration wasn’t established until the mid-1950’s, the more than 12,000 objects contained within, date back to the end of the 19th century. These include items and artworks pertaining to the various fields of study, such as; anthropology, forensics, pharmacology, and the pseudo-science of phrenology, (https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/phrenology-institute).
There are however, some noteworthy specialty items interspersed amongst the abundance of medical tools and diagrams. These include the model of the human lymphatic system that has been injected with mercury that dates from the end of the 18th century. There is also the skull that belonged to the tutor of King James VI and I, George Buchanan. It is perhaps the skeleton of William Burke, one half of the notorious serial killer duo of Burke and Hare, that garners most of the attention.
Towards the end of the 19th century Edinburgh, as well as the rest of the country, was plagued with an epidemic known as body snatching. The field of medical science was reaching a fever pitch and institutions couldn’t keep up with the demand for human cadavers to be used as dissection materials. Universities were being forced to incorporate the services of ’ Resurrectionist’. These were men, (and some women) who would dig up the bodies of the recently deceased to sell to the medical schools.
Burke and Hare were a pair of out of work day laborers who happen to stumble upon a nifty way of acquire bodies. They resorted to murder to cash in on the demand for corpses. In one year, 1828, they killed at least 16 people. In order to avoid the noose, William Hare turned King’s Evidence against his partner William Burke. Burke alone was found guilty of the crimes and was hung outside St. Giles and his body, in a twist of fate, was donated to University for dissection. The skeletal remains are on display to this day.
Know Before You Go
The museum is only open to the public on select weekends per month. To gain entry, one is required to access the website for a free time slot.
Due to the nature of human remains being present, photography is not allowed once inside the confines of the museum.
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