This ghoulish exhibition at the Royal College of Surgeons, now 2 centuries old, chronicles the life’s work of John Hunter (1728–93), who elevated surgery from something your barber dabbled in to something a saw-wielding, germ-spreading “scientist” would, ahem, undertake. It’s a macabre scene, crowded with thousands of specimens, including extinct animals, all tastefully presented in a modern, gleaming, two-level hall. Most of your time will be spent squeamishly perusing some 3,000 black-lidded jars of human and animal pathology and anatomy (many originally obtained by grave-robbers, a common practice then), plus a bone-grinding collection of crude surgical instruments that could rattle even the steeliest physician. Check out the cross-section of a chicken’s head that Hunter grafted with a human tooth. Such Frankenstein projects were his stock in trade. In 1783, when a 7 ft.-7 in. man named Charles Byrne heard Hunter wanted to display his corpse after he died, he tried to escape that fate by being buried at sea in a lead-lined coffin; Hunter bribed fisherman to fetch it, and here the poor man’s skeleton remains. Upstairs, as part of a history of surgery, you’ll find an ill-conceived amputation buzz saw. In its first use, it became slick with blood, slipped, and lopped off a nurse’s hand; both patient and nurse were killed by subsequent infection. Ask the good-humored staff questions, or else catch the weekly free guided tour, Wednesdays at 1pm (book ahead if possible).
London
Travel Guide
London› Attraction
Hunterian Museum
35-43 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, WC2
Our Rating
Hours
Tues–Sat 10am–5pm
Transportation
Tube: Holborn
Phone
020/7869-6560
Prices
Free
Web site
Hunterian Museum

Map
35-43 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, WC2 LondonNote: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.