Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Hunterian Museum London @hunterianmuseum.bsky.social · 9d

Credit
Ova of the hen, by Jan van Rymsdyk (d 1790), pastel on parchment, 1755-6. Hunterian Museum, Royal College of Surgeons of England. RCSSC/P 269b

1

Hunterian Museum London @hunterianmuseum.bsky.social · 9d

It appears that once he had completed the eggs on a pale blue background, Rymsdyke went back and added additional brighter blue pastel around them to increase the contrast.

Close-up of the same pastel, showing a chick with dark brown feathers in a curled position.

1 1 4

Hunterian Museum London @hunterianmuseum.bsky.social · 9d

This 270-year-old pastel drawing vividly illustrates the journey of a hen's egg to a fully developed chick.

By Dutch artist Jan van Rymsdyk, they were made for John Hunter in about 1755, when he was investigating animal reproduction. It is likely that Hunter used the drawing for presentations.

Pastel illustration showing the stages of chick embryo development inside eggs, arranged in a five-row grid against a blue background. The first four rows depict gradual growth from fertilised eggs to forming embryos, while the fifth row shows four chicks with distinct features, some partially hatched.

1 3 7

Hunterian Museum London @hunterianmuseum.bsky.social · Sep 10

Text on a green background reading 'The Hunterian Museum is currently closed for essential maintenance work.

The Museum will reopen on Wednesday 8 October.

Our apologies for any inconvenience caused.'

5

Hunterian Museum London @hunterianmuseum.bsky.social · Sep 4

Credit

1. Skull, left profile, attributed to William Cheselden, early 1700s. Hunterian Museum, Royal College of Surgeons of England. RCSSC/P 261
2. Plate 4 from Osteographia, or the anatomy of the bones, by William Cheselden, 1733. Royal College of Surgeons of England Library and Archives

3

Hunterian Museum London @hunterianmuseum.bsky.social · Sep 4

The painting belonged to Cheselden, and is thought to have been a preparatory work by him for 'Osteographia'. Although he worked with artists Gerard van der Gucht (1695/6–1776) and Jacob Schijnvoet (1685–1733) to create the complex images for the book, Cheselden was a capable artist himself.

1 4

Hunterian Museum London @hunterianmuseum.bsky.social · Sep 4

This similar plate is from 'Osteographia', 1733, a groundbreaking work by Cheselden which included full-sized illustrations of every human bone as well as depictions of bone disease and the skeletons of other animals.

An anatomical illustration of a human skull viewed from the side, resting on a rectangular base. The image is labeled with the Roman numeral "IIII" at the top.

1 1

Hunterian Museum London @hunterianmuseum.bsky.social · Sep 4

This striking profile of a skull is thought to be by William Cheselden (1688–1752), a skilled surgeon who gained fame as a teacher of surgery and anatomy.

1 1 8

Hunterian Museum London @hunterianmuseum.bsky.social · Aug 21

It was found by Dr Norman Fenton a British Regimental Medical Officer, shortly after the Allied landings in Italy, in 1943. He donated it to RCS England Museums in 2009. (RCSIC/X 392)
#WW2 #WWII #HistoryOfMedicine #MilitaryHistory #MilitaryMedicine #WW2Artifacts

1 5

Hunterian Museum London @hunterianmuseum.bsky.social · Aug 21

Found in an abandoned Italian Army surgical unit near Salerno, in south-west Italy, during the Second World War, this portable field kit contains around 40 stainless steel surgical instruments and a small alcohol burner.

1 3 12

Hunterian Museum London @hunterianmuseum.bsky.social · Aug 13

Credit
1. Male seahorse dissected to show the brood pouch and the contained eggs, 1760 - 1793, Hunterian Collection. RCSHC/3230
2. Male pipefish dissected to show the brood pouch and the contained eggs, 1760 - 1793, Hunterian Collection. RCSHC/3228

2

Hunterian Museum London @hunterianmuseum.bsky.social · Aug 13

In seahorses, pipefish, and seadragons (all part of the Syngnathidae family), males incubate their fertilised eggs in a specialised brood pouch until birth.

Learn more with Tyler, Museum Supervisor at the Hunterian Museum.

1 3 7

Hunterian Museum London @hunterianmuseum.bsky.social · Jul 31

This specimen from the 1700s reveals what's inside one of these internal eggs, showing a developing rattlesnake embryo.

Credit
Rattlesnake egg, 1760 - 1793, Hunterian Collection. RCSHC/3316

#rattlesnake #rattlesnakeegg #historyofscience #museum #freemuseum

A close-up view of a preserved rattlesnake embryo

2

Hunterian Museum London @hunterianmuseum.bsky.social · Jul 31

Did you know that rattlesnakes give birth to live young? 🐍

Unlike many reptiles, rattlesnakes don't lay eggs. Instead, their embryos develop in eggs inside the mother's body, a process called ovoviviparity. The young are then born fully formed.

1/2

A glass container filled with clear liquid containing a specimen of a rattlesnake embryo. The label at the top of the container reads "Crotalus" and the label at the bottom reads "3316". The embryo is coiled and visible within an internal egg structure.

1 1 7

Hunterian Museum London @hunterianmuseum.bsky.social · Jul 24

This is a turnip-tailed gecko, named after the shape and size of its tail (which this one is actually missing!)

It was originally prepared by John Hunter (1728-93), to reveal the development of the ovum in the ovaries.

RCSHC/3333
#historyofmedicine #historyofscience #museum

Glass specimen pot labelled '3333' and 'Thecadactylus' containing a gecko specimen with a dissected abdomen suspended in fluid

1 5

Hunterian Museum London @hunterianmuseum.bsky.social · Jul 23

What can a jar tell us about the history of medicine?

These beautiful drug jars, some over 400 years old, originate from across Europe. They once held remedies ranging from oil of roses to senna laxatives.

Comment below if you want more information on any particular jar!

1 3

Hunterian Museum London @hunterianmuseum.bsky.social · Jul 21

Job closing on Friday! 👇👇👇

Hunterian Museum London @hunterianmuseum.bsky.social · Jul 7

📢Come and work at the Hunterian Museum 📢

RCS England Museums is seeking a dynamic, highly motivated and empathetic individual to develop, deliver and promote inspiring public and professional Museum engagement programmes, on site and online.

👇👇👇

hunterianmuseum.org/news/vacancy...

Vacancy - Museums Engagement Manager

hunterianmuseum.org

Hunterian Museum London @hunterianmuseum.bsky.social · Jul 17

An excellent question that the team here at the museum were also pondering - perhaps that's why it didn't catch on!

1

Hunterian Museum London @hunterianmuseum.bsky.social · Jul 17

This model bed is a prototype from 1873 that allowed a patient's bedding to be changed without disturbing them.

It was designed by surgeon William Winchester, who also designed a clockwork amputation saw.

Learn more with Hunterian Museum Curator Alice

1 3 12

Hunterian Museum London @hunterianmuseum.bsky.social · Jul 15

Hi Jacq - yes all eyes were made to order, but she also had thousands of pre-made examples to use as guides for size and colour.

1

Hunterian Museum London @hunterianmuseum.bsky.social · Jul 15

These glass eyes were 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.

Glass eyes lying on a black background. The eyes are half globes that closely resemble a human eye, including the black pupil, coloured iris (in shades of blue, green and brown) and the white sclera with the details of red blood vessels.

Glass eyes lying in a grid in a blue velvet case. The eyes are half globes that closely resemble a human eye, including the black pupil, coloured iris (in shades of blue, green and brown) and the white sclera with the details of red blood vessels.

1 7 21

Hunterian Museum London @hunterianmuseum.bsky.social · Jul 14

This specimen is only part of a 4kg benign tumour (a salivary adenoma) that was removed from 37-year-old John Burley on 24 October 1785.
The operation by John Hunter took just 25 minutes and Burley made a complete recovery.
The drawings show him both before and after the operation.

Glass specimen pot, labelled 'P 216', containing a large solid specimen suspended in fluid. The specimen's internal structure is formed of multiple circular compartments of different sizes.

A drawing of a man with large tumour on the left side of his face and jaw, extending well below his chin

A drawing of a man looking to his right, with a scar extending from his ear to the middle of his neck

1 16 110

Hunterian Museum London @hunterianmuseum.bsky.social · Jul 14

Sorry!

1 1

Hunterian Museum London @hunterianmuseum.bsky.social · Jul 14

Thank you Lindsey!

Hunterian Museum London @hunterianmuseum.bsky.social · Jul 10

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. (RCSIC/Z 149)

Wooden head shaped object with brass jaws and teeth mounted on a metal stand

8 34 86