N.B.: Don’t read this if you are eating.
Before the Annual Meeting and Reception, I had the opportunity to tour the Mütter Museum, which is housed in The College of Physicians of Philadelphia and provides an historically accurate nineteenth century museum experience, exhibiting specimens much as they would be displayed in times past. On the upper level were several exhibitions: of note was the art exhibit “Corporeal Manifestations,” which displayed abstractions of medical conditions and deformities in order to depict how our bodies affect our psyches. Also on that level was an interesting examination of medicine during the Civil War, including images relevant to the Lincoln assassination. While my least favorite exhibit was the one of shrunken heads, I was more interested in other specimens which were embalmed or otherwise preserved. I had attended the “BodyWorlds 2 and the Brain” exhibit at the Franklin Institute this spring, and was struck by the similarities in appearance of some of the specimens, although the methods of preservation were quite dissimilar. An example of natural preservation was evidenced by the Soap Lady, lying supine in a glass case. The upper level also held a display of ear bones from the collection of Dr. Adam Politzer. Other displays included Exudations/Hypertrophes/ Necroses, OB/GYN instruments, the Hyrtl Skull collection, leather books made from human skin (presumably to honor the dead[!]), and images and casts of conjoined twins. Lastly, there was an interesting exhibit on forensic medicine, depicting various organs of victims and criminals both, in order to discover visual evidence of physical abnormality in order to provide proof of insanity or other physical/psychological causes for crime.
If I have not already whetted your appetite for this remarkable place, I am sure the lower level will be of greater interest, for that is where the Worden Gallery is located. A plaque reads, “This gallery is dedicated to the memory of Gretchen Worden (1947-2004). Ms.Worden devoted her entire professional life to the Mütter Museum and will always be remembered.” Ms.Worden was also a member of this Chapter. She was Director of the Museum from 1988-2004. Her portrait, painted by Alexandra Tyng, hangs within the gallery. Also in the gallery are wet specimens of body parts exhibiting various medical conditions, preserved in fluid. There are Lantern slides in that room as well, which used to be used as a teaching tool to project X-ray images onto screens. A prosthetic arm, wax models, and preserved fetuses also inhabit the room.
Elsewhere on that floor are examples in specimen and photographic form depicting pathologies of different body systems, including gastroenterological conditions, gigantism, disorders of the skeletal system, neurological and optical abnormalities, etc.
If you have an interest in the history of medicine, you can learn more from touring this museum than reading a text.
-RR
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