College of Surgeons Museum

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Photo by flickr user Mikey G Ottawa

Remember that song you'd sing as child, 'the knee-bone is connected to the...leg bone, the leg bone is connected to the hip bone'? Well the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh is along the same lines but takes it to the next level, and then some. Housing one of the most significant surgical collections in the world. William Playfair’s outstanding Pathology Museum, the oldest in Britain, contains human anatomical and pathological specimens from the late 18th century. Depending on your disposition this will be enthralling or nauseating, but is undeniably interesting.

Other objects, images and artworks trace surgery’s history from Roman times to the present including the breakthrough discoveries of antisepsis and anaesthesia, the curious development of false teeth and the chilling Burke and Hare murders. 'Sport, Surgery and Well Being' highlights the benefits of sports and exercise medicine and gives you the chance to test your skill as a surgeon on the keyhole surgery training unit.

This museum will teach you some serious and remarkable stuff and the temporary exhibitions are always of a high calibre. When the time comes to leave the museum you'll be singing 'the proximal phalange is connected to the metacarpals, the metacarpals are connected to the pisiform, capitate, trapezoid and trapezium...'

Written by  John Johnston.

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