The National Museum of Scotland has announced the Saturday debut of a major new exhibition in Edinburgh titled Anatomy: A Matter of Death and Life.
From art to science to medicine and crime, the intersectional exhibit will take visitors through the history of anatomical study into the present, exploring the human cost of medical advancements.
“Anatomy: A Matter of Death and Life will examine the social and medical history surrounding the practice of dissection of human bodies. It looks at Edinburgh’s role as an international centre for medical study and offers insight into the links between science and crime in the early 19th century,” a press release announced.
Traveling back in time to 1828, visitors will learn about murderers William Burke and William Hare, who killed 16 people in the impoverished Edinburgh district of West Port and sold the bodies to an anatomist for dissection.
“The exhibition examines the circumstances that gave rise to the murders and asks why they took place in Edinburgh. It unpicks the relationship between science and deprivation and looks at the public reaction to the crimes and the anatomical practices responsible for them,” a Museum press release said.
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The relationship between crime and science is further explored into the 18th century as Edinburgh developed the leading centre for medical teaching in the UK, fueling a demand for bodies to dissect and study.
“The acquisition of bodies was intertwined with poverty and crime, with grave-robbing - stealing unprotected bodies for dissection - becoming a common practice,” the release continued.
The exhibition closes by highlighting the changing practices and attitudes around body provision, and it examines the modern approach to body donation at universities in Scotland, contrasting the ethics, practices and beliefs today with those of two centuries ago.
“Anatomical knowledge is crucial to medicine, and Edinburgh was a key centre for medical teaching and the development of modern medicine. However, this work relied on the dissection of bodies, the sourcing of which was often controversial and distressing,” said Dr Tacye Phillipson, Senior Curator of Modern Science at National Museums Scotland.
“Anatomists could only get the quantity of bodies they wanted through dehumanising the dead and financing a murky industry. Murder was a particularly shocking consequence of this, with people killed for the sale price of their bodies. This fascinating exhibition explores the relationship between society, poverty, ethics and science at that time, and exposes the human cost of early medical advancement.”
On display will be a ‘mort safe’; a heavy iron box placed over a coffin to deter would-be body snatchers. Other notable objects in the exhibition include a full-body anatomical model by pioneering model maker Louis Auzoux, ground-breaking casts of body parts and William Burke’s skeleton and written confession.
The exhibit will be on display from 2 July to 30 October at the National Museum of Scotland on Chambers Street. Admission is £10 for adults; £8.50 for over 60s, and £7.50 for other concessions. Under 16s are allowed free entry.
For more information, visit nms.ac.uk/anatomy
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