Anatomical Model of a Man
date: label: date made
content: 1893
name: label: maker
content: Etablissements du Docteur Auzoux
notes: label: Description
content: People have always sought better ways to illustrate and understand the structure and functions of the internal body. Before the discovery of x-rays in 1895, the only practical way to see inside the human body was to observe an operation or a dissection. Cultural and religious beliefs about dissection often made the practice illegal, and even when dissection was acceptable, cadavers were difficult to obtain.
label: Description
content: Moreover, lack of refrigeration meant that bodies decayed swiftly. Dissections had to be performed during the cooler months, and were impossible in warmer climates. Frustrated in his studies, a young French medical student devised an elegant solution—papier-mâché anatomical models.
label: Description
content: Louis Thomas Jerôme Auzoux (1797-1880), a French physician, improved and popularized anatomical papier-mâché models. As a medical student in the early 19th century, Auzoux found it difficult to study anatomy when the human cadavers he was dissecting deteriorated rapidly and wax models were not readily available.
label: Description
content: He began creating anatomical models, inspired by papier-mâché dolls, boxes, and other household items then popular in Europe. In 1822, the same year Auzoux received his medical degree, he presented his first complete anatomical male figure to the Paris Academy of Medicine. Five years later, he opened a factory to manufacture human, veterinary, and botanical models.
label: Description
content: This life size dissectible anatomical model of a human male has 25 dissectible parts and over 2,000 details. Directions for dissecting Auzoux's larger models came with each specimen. Major organs, bones and muscles are identified and labeled in French. A number, accompanied by a hand pasted onto the model, indicates that the piece can be detached. Smaller numbers and letters correspond to each represented detail.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: Place Made
content: France: Île-de-France, Paris
topic: label: Subject
content: Anatomy
label: Subject
content: Education
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Medicine
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: MG.M-10315.01
label: catalog number
content: 49346
label: catalog number
content: M-10315.01
label: accession number
content: MG*29042
label: accession number
content: 29042
objectType: label: Object Name
content: model, anatomical, man
label: Object Name
content: anatomical model
label: Object Name
content: model, anatomical, torso piece
label: Other Terms
content: Model, Chest, Anatomical; Medicine
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: overall, torso (removeable outer): 6 ft x 13 in x 22 1/2 in; 1.8288 m x 33.02 cm x 57.15 cm
label: Measurements
content: overall: 198.12 cm x 58 cm x 58 cm; 78 in x 22 13/16 in x 22 13/16 in