Accession No

2295

Brief Description

anatomical model of a human torso, Museum name ‘Fred’, 19th Century

Origin

Maker

Class

biology; physiology; demonstration

Earliest Date

1800

Latest Date

1900

Inscription Date

Material

wood; metal; plaster

Dimensions

torso length 800 mm, height 250 mm; base 950 x 465 mm;

Special Collection

Provenance

Purchased from Magdalene Street Gallery, Cambridge, England, 16/2/1977.

Inscription

Description Notes

Anatomical model of a human torso, known as ‘Fred’. Plaster model, possibly on a wood and metal framework; various pieces fitting inside the abdominal and chest cavity. On black painted wood base.

Condition: fair (some cracking to the plaster); some of the metal hooks and eyes to hold the pieces in position are missing.

References

Events

Description
Affectionately known by the Whipple Museum staff as ‘Fred’, this classic model of a human torso was used as a teaching aid. Until the 1870s, clinical training for medical students was available to only a select few. Confronted with a shortage of human remains for performing dissections, nineteenth-century model-makers began to produce life-like examples of anatomy that would support medical teaching. While anatomical models did not completely displace the value of observation through dissection, they were important objects for familiarizing and visualizing internal human anatomy. In contrast to an older generation of wax models that could not be disassembled, this model of a human torso provided a systematic reconstruction of the human body.

18/02/2014
Created by: Allison Ksiazkiewicz on 18/02/2014

FM:40306