Whose face did this wax model depict? We stand before Old Surgeons Hall, a place where such questions have resonated for centuries. This grand building, steeped in medical history, houses Surgeons’ Hall Museums, a treasure trove of surgical artifacts and specimens. Old Surgeons Hall whispers tales of groundbreaking discoveries and the evolution of medical practices.
Established in 1505, the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, which owns the museum, has long been a pioneer in surgical advancement. Inside, you’ll find a reconstructed anatomy theatre, a chilling reminder of the days when public dissections were the primary means of teaching surgical techniques. Imagine the scene, if you will, back in 1702. The Council of Edinburgh had promised the College one body per week for surgical study. The unfortunate subject of that inaugural dissection was David Myles, a man executed for incest. Imagine the hushed anticipation as Archibald Pitcairn, a leading figure in Scottish medicine, prepared to dissect Myles’s body over the course of a week.
While a replica of such a theatre exists within Old Surgeons Hall, it’s important to remember that this institution was more than just a stage for the macabre. Here, brilliant minds like Joseph Lister, the father of antiseptic surgery, and James Young Simpson, who introduced chloroform as an anesthetic, revolutionized medical practice. Their legacies, and the legacies of countless others who studied and taught within these walls, are woven into the very fabric of Old Surgeons Hall. We are reminded that every specimen, every instrument, tells a story of human ingenuity and our unending quest to understand the complexities of our own mortality.