Like the Kunstkamera, organized by Peter I, the Mutter Museum of Medical History, Pennsylvania, was created under the influence of the philosophical ideas of Francis Bacon, who believed that only by finding out the boundaries of pathologies, one can define the concept of the norm for the human body. In his collections there are interesting samples of ancient medical equipment, as well as biomedical exhibits and wax models.
By whom and when the beginning of this collection was laid, which it presents the most interesting and unusual exhibits, we will tell further.
When did it open?
The Mutter Museum of Medical History, PA, is located in the Philadelphia College of Medicine, so-called out of habit. Now it is one of the most innovative medical schools in the United States, it is part of the University of Pennsylvania.
It all started with the fact that in 1750, the University Board of Trustees bought the building of an evangelical prayer house. The following year, students began to study in its walls. Below you can see the house in which the Mutter Medical History Museum, PA is located. Photo perfectly conveys the features of the architectural style, popular in America in the XVIII century.
At the same time, collection of exhibits begins. The first ones were donated by Dr. Mutter from his own collection. However, the Mütter Museum was fully operational only in 1858.
What is on display?
The Mutter Museum of Medical History, PA, has a collection of unusual biological and physiological artifacts inferior to similar collections in the Paris Musée Dupuytren or our Kunstkamera. The exposition provides an opportunity in the process of viewing to obtain information about any object presented, for example, about the Siamese twins Eng and Chang, whose plaster copy attracts many visitors.
This museum has a fairly extensive collection of real human skulls with a detailed account of the reasons why its owner died. In addition, the Mütter Museum presents skeletons and mummies, canned organs and embryos with various deviations, body parts, as well as many wax models, some of which were made in the 19th century.
This museum has also collected an extensive collection of various medical instruments and devices - both antique and modern.
Who is Gary Eastlak?
That was the name during the lifetime of a person who bequeathed after his death to transfer the skeleton to the Mutter Museum of Medical History, Pennsylvania. During his life, Gary suffered from such a rare disease as ossifying fibrodysplasia, which is characterized by the formation of excess bones in place of bruises and wounds. You can also see intravital photographs of this person, where growths of different sizes are visible on his limbs.
