Anatomage Digital Surrogate Table

Students from Blanquerna School of Health Science at Ramon Llull University learning with the Anatomage table

Close-up of underside of scarificator

A close-up photograph of the underside of a scarificator, used in bloodletting. Part of a set including cupping instruments and wooden case.Title supplied by cataloge

Violet Ray Generator, Renulife Model R

This is a 1940s Renulife Model R Violet Ray Generator. Its manufacturer promised that the device would relieve constipation, clear the complexion, and calm the nerves, among many other uses. Electrical medical devices like this one were popular for decades among physicians, irregular practitioners, and home users, who could purchase them through catalogs and drugstores. The machine plugs into an electrical wall outlet. A glass electrode plugs into the wand, produces a violet glow, and delivers a spark when touched to the skin. The strength of the spark, controlled by the voltage selector, ranges from mild to quite intense. Attachments could stimulate many body parts. The attachments for this model were labeled surface/general body, external throat, internal throat, single eye/nipple, rake comb, large body, spinal, fulguration/cauterizing, general metal electrode, and rectal/prostate. The operator can change the output either to violet ray or to ozone (to be used with an optional ozone generating attachment for inhalation). The operator can also select either external or internal use

Magic Mirror Augmented Reality Display

A student at Johns Hopkins University interacting with the Magic Mirror augmented reality system

Gallbladder

The M&uuml;tter Museum is one of the very few historical anatomical museums that still occasionally accepts donations of body parts if they are appropriate for the collection. In recent years, staff and their family members have provided several specimens. In order to obtain one specimen, a staff member had to first persuade the surgeon to let her keep her husband&rsquo;s gallbladder after surgery for gallstones. Gallstones (hardened, pebble-like deposits of digestive fluid) are common, affecting about 12% of the U.S. population, but require surgical removal only if they cause pain or fever. The staff member left instructions for the pathology department not to &ldquo;slice and dice&rdquo; the organ too much during their analysis. They thought her request was quite unusual, but they honored it. She picked up the gallbladder the next day and brought it back to the Museum. Information on donating human biological specimens to the M&uuml;tter Museum can be found at&nbsp;this FAQ.</p

Medical School, University of Nottingham

Female undergraduate student working in Clinical Skills Centre within the Medical School

Medical students

Undergraduate students preparing for a dissection practica

Enormous Prostate Gland

This prostate gland weighs about 500 grams (17.6 ounces). The average adult male prostate gland weights about 35 grams (1.2 ounces). A normal prostate is the size of a walnut, but at the time this prostate was surgically removed from a 65-year-old man, it was about the size of a grapefruit. The prostate is a male reproductive gland. Most men, as they age, experience the discomforts of an enlarged prostate. This condition is called benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Because the prostate is near the urethra, BPH can cause urination and bladder problems. The exact causes of BPH are unknown, but some theorize that age-related changes in testicular cells may play a role in prostate growth. Men may be able to relieve some of the symptoms of BPH by making lifestyle changes, such as avoiding alcohol and caffeine or urinating when the chance arises, and by taking medication. Some men have surgery to fully or partially remove the prostate. Surgical treatment of BPH has been possible only since the early 1900s. Before that, a man with a painfully enlarged prostate would have had to live with the symptoms for the rest of his life

Human Skin in Jar

This jar of dried skin, donated to the Mütter Museum in 2009, belonged to a 23-year-old Caucasian woman who not only picked the skin on her feet but meticulously saved each piece. This specimen, however, is not just a jar of human skin: it is a visual representation of a mental disorder. Dermatillomania, also known as skin picking disorder (SPD), is the compulsive need to pick at the skin, causing damage. It is grouped with other BFRBs (Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors) and is classified as an excoriation disorder by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition. The majority of afflicted individuals are women. Recent studies have estimated that between 2-3% of the general population has this disorder. While there are both behavioral and pharmacological methods of treating dermatillomania, many individuals do not seek out treatment

Plastinated Human in Cross-Cut Segments

Vertical cross-cut sections of a plastinated human