Proposed European anatomical collections network

Abstract

Universities, colleges, medical institutions and professional societies in the past used their museums as tools to establish themselves as the rightful producers of anatomical knowledge. Anatomical and medical museums, nearly ubiquitous in the cities of Europe and the United States, exhibited and preserved anatomical specimens as well as models and sculptures – some displaying great artistic and technical finesse – which depicted human anatomy in graphic detail. A European anatomical collection network proposes to obtain, collect, and analyze a wide range of information about anatomical collections in Europe. For our proposal it is important to focus the attention on ‘how’ as well as ‘what’ has been collected, to the strategies adopted for showing the collections, to the people who had access to the collections and the degree to which their prior experiences and expectations may have shaped their responses to it. It is also important to consider the geographical location and origins of anatomical collections, their anatomical models and specimens, the contents of lectures, the audiences targeted and also the questions raised in historical, sociological and anthropological literature about anatomy.