The Hunterian

Part two of our London medical tour is the Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons, centrally located near Trafalgar Square and my personal favorite of all the collections I've seen in this trip.

There are over 3,000 specimens, human and zoological, laid out in identical acrylic containers, arranged in neat rows on glass shelves in glass cabinets, two stories high. It's a breathtaking display.

They don't allow photography of any kind, which is understandable, considering the nature of the collection. I'd go into detail about the exhibits, but it would seem redundant; there's already an extensive description of this place here on bioephemera, a blog you should be checking regularly if you're into this sort of thing. There's little I have to add, other than that I hope anyone in London allows at least a couple of hours to visit it, and to give it a chance; human biological specimens might seem off-putting, but it's a fantastic educational opportunity and can also be an introspective, and even transformative, experience.

Virtual Tour of the Museum Here