The Hunterian at the University of Glasgow has been awarded funding from Museums Galleries Scotland to re-home its pathology collections.

The collections, which are currently housed in the University’s Department of Pathology at Glasgow Royal Infirmary, will be relocated to a new purpose-built in the Thomson Building, home to the University Laboratory for Human Anatomy. The project will reunite these historical specimens with The Hunterian’s main anatomical teaching collection, providing improved and care and much enhanced teaching and research access.

Hunterian founder, Dr William Hunter, was a prolific collector and his medical collections were central to the gift of his museum to the University of Glasgow in 1783. At the very core are the historic anatomical preparations made by Hunter and his pupils in the 18th century.

The medical collections comprise around 5500 wet preparations of human and some animal, tissues and organs, together with skeletal material, air-dried preparations and some animal taxidermy.

The project will create modern high quality storage in a controlled environment, which allows much improved access to the collection for teaching, research and wider public engagement.

First published: 17 August 2011

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