Buzz
Established in 1858, the Mütter Museum began with Dr. Thomas Dent Mütter's donation of medical oddities, anatomical specimens, and unusual instruments. Located in Philadelphia, its mission was to advance medical education and research. Today, it boasts a fascinating array of historical medical artifacts, including the preserved livers of conjoined twins and slides of Albert Einstein’s brain. Below, we highlight 11 standout exhibits.
1. Adopt a Skull
Among the museum's most intriguing displays is a collection of 139 skulls amassed by Viennese anatomist Joseph Hyrtl during the 19th century. Each skull tells a captivating story—from a renowned tightrope walker who met his end in a tragic fall to a Finnish sailor who succumbed to gunshot wounds. The museum now offers a unique opportunity for visitors to adopt a skull. For $200, donors can fund the cleaning, restoration, and remounting of a skull, which is then displayed with a plaque bearing their name.
2. Slice of a Human Face
Anna Dhody, the curator of the Mütter Museum, has produced a series of YouTube videos highlighting unique items from the museum's collections. In one video, she presents a bilateral cross-section of a human face, prepared by Dr. Matthew Cryer, a physician and dentist from the early 1900s. This slice was created to study the formation and development of oral and sinus cavities. The museum houses over 400 similar specimens in its archives.
3. Rib Bones of a Person with Rickets
Among the museum's holdings are rib bones from an individual who suffered from rickets, a condition caused by vitamin D deficiency that leads to bone softening.
4. Jar of Pickled Human Skin
Among the museum's more peculiar exhibits is a jar containing preserved human skin. What does it smell like? Dr. Robert Hicks, the museum's director, describes its scent as having a subtle resemblance to Romano cheese.
5. Hippopotamus Fat from the Zulus in South Africa
Many families have that one eccentric relative who champions unconventional remedies, but hippopotamus fat might be a new one. Dr. Hicks explains that the Zulus of South Africa utilized hippo fat to treat stomach ailments and even to foster attraction between animals to promote mating.
6. Aphrodisiac Made From Elephant’s Tusk
The Zulus also provided the Mütter Museum with a unique aphrodisiac. Over a century ago, they harvested a powdery substance known as daga from the interior of a freshly killed elephant's tusk. They believed that discreetly adding this powder to a woman's food or drink would cause her to develop intense feelings of love.
7. World War I Hand Therapy Device
Modern medical technology has advanced significantly compared to the rudimentary tools of the early 1900s. During World War I, a simple wooden device was employed for hand therapy. Soldiers with hand or finger injuries used this machine to stretch their muscles and improve blood flow.
8. Bedbugs Extracted From a Patient’s Ear
For urban dwellers, bedbugs are a familiar nuisance—tiny blood-sucking pests that hide in clothing, bedding, or even on people. The Mütter Museum displays a jar containing bedbugs removed from a patient's ear.
9. Section of Small Intestine
During the 1849 cholera outbreak in Philadelphia, which claimed 1,012 lives, a segment of a victim's small intestine was preserved in a jar for study and exhibition.
10. Human Feet
Among the Mütter Museum's more unusual exhibits is a jar containing amputated feet from a diabetic patient. Due to poor management of the disease, the patient developed necrosis, leading to the death of tissue in the affected areas.
11. Book Bound in Human Skin
The museum also houses a 1700s book detailing the process of pregnancy and its stages. While the historical perspective is fascinating, the most striking feature is its binding. In the 1880s, a physician used skin from a woman's thigh, boiled in a hospital chamber pot, to bind the book.
