Grave Consequences for Grave Doings
Cadder Parish Church, showing watchhouse and iron mortsafe, which was used to hold the corpse until it had decomposed enough to render it unsuitable for
Who said Poetry was Dead? An Ode to the Chirurgeon-Embalmer (1705)
TO HIS INGENIOUS FRIEND MR. THOMAS GREENHILL ‘Tis great and worthy of our Praise to lead The Living thro’ the Dwellings of the Dead; Death’s
From the Dissection Room: Inguinal Hernia
Eighteenth-century specimen showing an inguinal hernia, located in the groin. The preparation shows a contraction within the hernia which resulted in necrosis of part of
Danse Macabre (Dance of Death)
Although not directly related to the history of surgery, Danse Macabre reflects a theme which undoubtedly preoccupied surgeons during the early modern period: death. Danse
From the Dissection Room: Neurofibromatosis
A female skull dating from 1829 with the bony skeleton of a large facial tumour (possibly caused by neurofibromatosis) involving the right side of the
Meat Pie, Anyone? The True Story of Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Thanks to the talents of Mr. Johnny Depp, most of us are now familiar with the story of Sweeney Todd, the demon barber of Fleet