The Gordon Museum of Pathology is a
medical museum that is part of
King's College London
King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...
in London, England. It is one of the largest pathology museums in the world and is the largest medical museum in the United Kingdom.
Its primary function is to train medical, dental, biomedical and healthcare students and professionals to diagnose diseases.
History
The Gordon Museum was opened in 1905 at
King's Guy's Campus as a result of a donation by British lawyer Robert Gordon, and was intended to be a teaching resource devoted purely to human material.
A number of specimens and other medical-related objects have been collected since 1802, and were initially gathered by the first Medical Curator
Thomas Hodgkin. These formed the basis of the museum in the first Medical School opened in 1826. In 1829, the museum contained approximately 3000 exhibits, and by 1861, the ''London Journal of Medicine'' reported that "the Museums are on a scale which entitles them to rank among the first of our national collections."
Collections
The Gordon Museum holds a collection of approximately 8000 pathological specimens, artefacts, models and paintings,
and the earliest specimens are from circa 1608.
The Museum contains many human specimens that have impacted on the development of medical studies, including
Astley Cooper’s ligation of the
abdominal aorta
In human anatomy, the abdominal aorta is the largest artery in the abdominal cavity. As part of the aorta, it is a direct continuation of the descending aorta (of the thorax).
Structure
The abdominal aorta begins at the level of the thoracic d ...
, and the original specimens of
kidneys,
adrenal glands and
lymph nodes which led Thomas Hodgkin,
Thomas Addison and
Richard Bright to describe the medical conditions that bear their names.
The Museum also houses a number of historic collections and artefacts, for example
Joseph Lister's antiseptic spray, and Thomas Hodgkin’s stethoscope that was the first to be used in England. The
Joseph Towne
Joseph Towne (25 November 1806 – 25 June 1879) was a British moulageur, sculptor, and stereoscopist. He is best known for the creation of anatomical models made of wax, many of which still survive today and are on display in the Guy's Hospital ...
's anatomical and dermatological
wax models and
Lam Qua's pre-operative tumour paintings are as well displayed in the museum.
Key people
Curators
*
Thomas Hodgkin, British physician, pioneer in
preventive medicine (1825-1837)
* Thomas Wilkinson King, regarded by some as the 'Father of Endocrinology'
(1837-1847)
* John Birkett (1851-1852)
*
Samuel Osborne Habershon
Samuel Osborne Habershon (1825 – 22 August 1889) was an English physician.
Habershon was born at Rotherham in 1825, and studied medicine (from 1842) at Guy's Hospital, London. He gained numerous scholarships at the university of London, wher ...
, English physician (1853-1856)
* Walter Moxon (1865-1873)
*
Charles Hilton Fagge
Charles Hilton Fagge (1838–1883) was an English physician.
Life
Fagge was the son of Charles Fagge, a medical practitioner, and nephew of John Hilton. He was born in Hythe, Kent on 30 June 1838. Fagge entered Guy's Hospital medical school in O ...
, English physician (1873-1882)
*
James Goodhart
James Goodhart (1845–1916) was an English physician whose work extended into various medical fields, including morbid pathology and paediatrics. He held positions in a number of London hospitals and institutions, including Guy's Hospital and ...
, English physician and paediatrician (1882-1887)
* George Newton Pitt (1887-1889)
* Lauriston Elgie Shaw (1889 -1904)
* John Fawcett (1904-1913)
* Robert Davies Colley (1913-1946)
*
Keith Simpson, English forensic pathologist (1946-1965)
* Sigiberto Jose De Navasquez (1965-1970)
* John Maynard (1970-1996)
* Sebastian Lucas (1996-2003)
* William Edwards (2003–present)
Artist in residence
* Eleanor Crook, anatomical modeller and sculptor (2007–present)
References
External links
Gordon Museum home pageon King's College London website
About the Gordon Museumon YouTube
{{King's College London, state=collapsed
King's College London