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Warren Anatomical Museum

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Phineas Gage
Skull of Phineas Gage

The Warren Anatomical Museum, part of Harvard Medical School's Countway Library of Medicine, was founded in 1847 by Harvard professor John Collins Warren when he [1] whose personal collection of 160[2] unusual and instructive anatomical and pathological specimens form the nucleus of the museum's 15,000-item collection.[3]

The museum's first curator was J.B.S. Jackson.[4] The museum became a part of Countway Library's Center for the History of Medicine in 2000.[5]

Warren also has objects significant to medical history, such as the inhaler used during the first public demonstration of ether-assisted surgery in 1846 (on loan to the Massachusetts General Hospital since 1948),[6] and the skull of Phineas Gage, who survived a large iron bar being driven through his brain.

Renovations

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The medical library began a multi-floor renovation in August 2019 requiring the temporary deinstallation of the museum gallery.[7] The renovation completed in spring 2021. Another renovation was performed from February to September 2023 which added seating areas and classroom space to the library.[8]


See also

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References

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  1. ^ Wolly, Brian (January 1, 2010). "Highlights From the Warren Anatomical Museum". Smithsonian. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
  2. ^ Jackson, J.B.S. (1870). A descriptive catalogue of the Warren Anatomical Museum. Boston: Williams. p. iv.
  3. ^ "Warren Anatomical Museum". Harvard Medical School. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  4. ^ Whitney, William F. (1911). The Warren Anatomical Museum of the Harvard Medical School and the arrangement of its collection. Boston: Harvard Medical School. p. 2. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
  5. ^ "Reckoning with the Past, Influencing the Future - Countway Library". countway.harvard.edu. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  6. ^ "The Ether Dome at Mass General". Massachusetts General Hospital. Archived from the original on December 6, 2010. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
  7. ^ Hall, Dominic (August 14, 2019). "Warren Anatomical Museum Gallery Temporarily Closing Until Spring 2021". Harvard Countway Library. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  8. ^ "Renovations". Harvard Countway Library. Retrieved December 7, 2025.

Sources

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