Introduction
The anatomical collections contain materials collected under Surgeon General Hammond's original 1862 mandate for the creation of the Army Medical Museum, as well as materials donated, purchased, or acquired over the years since the Civil War. With the growth of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology out of the Museum in the 1940s, the collection program shifted away from large numbers of pathology cases to individual cases for consultation and collections maintained by AFIP departments for research needs. You may search the "Guide to Museum's Civil War Holdings."
Three types of material comprise the collections: anatomical and pathological skeletal specimens; gross anatomical and pathological (medical) specimens; and miscellaneous material. Information about the documentation relating to each collection or specimen varies; most skeletal specimens have excellent documentation, but some gross pathological specimens have little or no information.
Within the skeletal collection are distinct subgroups based on the time period of the material, its reason for acquisition, or its use. The gross anatomical and pathological collection contains specimens organized according to organ or organ system. Miscellaneous collections include trichobezoars (hairballs); urinary, gall, and bladder calculi (stones); dental materials; pubic symphyses (cartilaginous joints); and wax corrosion casts.
A Brief History of the Collecting of Anatomical Specimens by the Army Medical Museum (PDF or Word 2000 Doc)
