Media Review

摘要

A visitor to the Hunterian Museum could easily be excused for thinking that they had wandered into the home of some crazed collector fascinated by the rare and the exotic, the obscure and the bizarre. Indeed, this perception would not be so far from the truth. Housed in the Royal College of Surgeons in London, the museum has assumed a variety of forms and functions over its long history (the museum celebrated its bicentennial in 2013). The museum helped the College secure its Royal Charter in 1800, has served as a vital site for surgical teaching and anatomical research, and for a long time shaped the public image of anatomy, physiology and surgery. Today, the museum offers visitors an opportunity to explore the life and work of John Hunter (1728–93), the renowned eighteenth-century surgeon, anatomist, naturalist and teacher responsible for assembling the museum’s core collection.