Glass eyes made by Mollie Surman of Kingston, Surrey in the mid 1900s. Surman was from a family of glassblowers and made her first 'eye' when she was 12. The main eye would be blown from white glass before other colours of glass were added in to make the iris, pupil, and veins.

ANSWER: Wednesday might be hump day, but it's not a camel hump! It's the lining of one of the stomach chambers. Hunter described this as a ‘water stomach’ where the camel would store water. It is now thought it is probably involved in the absorption of water, rather than storage.

Specimen in focus 🔍

The label on this incredible specimen reads ‘Camelus bactrianus’, telling us that it comes from a Bactrian Camel. But do you know which part of the animal it is from?

Specimen in focus 🔍
These rabbit ears were part of an experiment carried out by John Hunter in 1777 to see how freezing affected living tissue. He hoped to discover if life could be extended through cryonics, freezing a living animal to bring it back to life in the future

Great news! The Hunterian Museum has been shortlisted for 'Permanent Exhibition of the Year' at the Museum+ Heritage awards! 🤩
Enjoy this sneak peek of the galleries!
#MandHawards

Lithotomy – the patient's experience

In the 1700s lithotomy was dangerous and extremely painful, the operation had to be fast and the patient had to be held still. Some, grateful they had survived, kept the stones as mementos in inscribed boxes. The one shown is made of pewter.

Thomas Hollier (1609 – 1690) was a London surgeon, skilled in lithotomy. His most famous patient the diarist, Samuel Pepys, underwent the operation on 26 March 1658 at the age of 25. Grateful to have survived, Pepys celebrated the anniversary of the operation every year after.

The Art and Science of Surgery
Lithotomy instruments, late 1700s, long and thin for insertion into the bladder or urethra. The hook or forceps were used to extract a whole stone through an incision in the bladder, while the scoop was used to remove fragments of crushed stone.

The Art and Science of Surgery
Cutting for the Stone. The specimen shows a human bladder with a large stone inside caused by the build up of mineral deposits. The surgical removal of bladder stones is called lithotomy, from the Greek litho - stone, and tomia - cutting.

This dental phantom was made around 1900 for dental students to practice their skills before treating real patients. A hat-maker’s dummy has been added to represent the head of the patient. The jaws contain removable brass teeth allowing various dental procedures to be practiced.

Today is #InternationalWomensDay . Orthopaedic surgeon Dame Clare Marx PRCS (1954-2022) was the first woman to be President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (2014 - 17). Photograph by Jane Brettle, bust by Consultant Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon, Lisa Sacks FRCS.

Today is #RareDiseaseDay . Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva (FOP) is a rare genetic condition in which the soft tissues are gradually replaced by bone, it was first described by St. Bart’s surgeon, John Freke, in 1736.
Image: Barts Health NHS Trust Archives Barts Health Archives

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John Hunter used this specimen of a greater siren to show his idea that animals might be classed depending on the structure of their hearts. Although he didn’t think one feature could be used to classify an animal, he thought it could help when new species were discovered.

These three young tortoises were prepared by Hunter to show the closing of the umbilical aperture. This is where the yolk sac would be attached to the underside of the tortoise (plastron) when in the egg. The tortoises are in age order with the youngest at the top.