Talk of the day

Free gallery talks are delivered by museum experts who are volunteers. The talks are a chance to find out more about the history of surgery and dentistry and the natural history, science and art collections at the museum.

A brief synopsis of each talk is available below. If you are interested in a particular talk please call the museum on 020 7869 6560 before you travel, as we cannot guarantee that it is going to be delivered on the day you visit.

My favourite things by Professor Harold Ellis, FRCS

From the Irish Giant to the introduction of anaesthesia in surgical procedures, the author of 'A History of Surgery' and emeritus professor of surgery at the University of London takes you on a 20 minute tour of his favourite specimens and objects in the museum collection. His book is available in the museum shop.

A taste of John Hunter by Brian Fox

John Hunter looked at animals and the natural world in a new and radical way. Hunter's work was controversial but thanks to his collection his contemporaries were able to start learning about zoology, biology and anatomy. This talk emphasised how important John Hunter's experiments were and how much we have learned from him.

A night with Venus, a lifetime with Mercury by Mr Tim Guerrier, FRCS

Syphilis was a common disease in John Hunter's lifetime. Having become virtually extinct in the UK by the 1980s it is now beginning to return. This talk, easily accessible to non-medics uses Hunter's specimens to illustrate how the disease can affect many parts of the body and how it was treated in his day. The talk also touches on his experimental approach to the study of surgery.

Affairs of the heart by Mr Richard Jeffery, FRCS

This talk explores the evolution of heart surgery. Various closed heart procedures are described using a model heart and original surgical instruments before progressing to the invention of the heart-lung machine and open heart surgery. The talk usually lasts around 35 minutes, with an opportunity for questions and answers at the end.

Lost and found: a dental masterpiece by Mr Peter Jordan LDS RCSEng

Everybody in the 18 and 19 centuries had dreadful teeth. The wealthy purchased equally dreadful false teeth. During this 20 minute talke you will see examples of some rather nasty-looking dentures from that period and hear in a light-hearted way what it must have been like to wear them. You will also have a unique opportunity to view and hear about one particularly splendid denture which is not normally on display in the museum and was recently rediscovered in our stored collections.

Wound healing by Mr Ravi Kunzru, FRCS

Healing of wounds in different structures (like skin, tendons and bones) occurs in a similar but not the same manner. John Hunter studied this essential phenomenon and several of his specimens in the museum demonstrate different stages of healing. This 20 minute talk uses them to illustrate the current knowledge of how a wound heals.

The darker side of the Age of Enlightenment by Mr Neil Orr, FRCS

During John Hunter's time there was an explosion of scientific, literary and artistic development. This 30 minute talk show how many of these advances were made in conditions which today would be highly irregular!

Apothecaries, barbers and the City by Mr Mike Pugh, FRCS

How could you be a surgeon without going to university? This 15 minute talk illustrates the progress of surgery from care by the monks who after a papal injunction passed the mantle on to the Barbers. You will hear about the influence of the Guilds of the City of London and the regulation of surgical training marked by a Charter from King Henry VIII to the Barber Surgeons in 1545. An event that was immortalised in a painting by Hans Holbein. All this holds the key to the question of why surgeons in Britain are addressed as Mister.

Anatomy of a hanging by Mr Richard Pusey, FRCS

The talk centres around the skeleton of Jonathan Wild, a notorious early 18 century 'thief taker' on display at the museum. It examines his life and looks at how he was hanged at the dreaded gallows at Tyburn. The demonstration of a hangmans knot, together a discuss of the different types of hanging are used to show the anatomical and physiological effects on the body. The talk finishes with a look at body-snatching and how the skeleton of Jonathan Wilde ended up in the museum.

The wretched child in Hunter’s time by Professor Lewis Spitz, FRCS

Children were poorly treated in John Hunter's time. This talk starts with the observation of an intussusception (bowel obstruction) in Hunter's collection, progresses through the human and animal fetal speciments and ends with a view of the portrait of the conjoined twins Chang and Eng, whose place of birth gave us the historical term 'Siamese twins'. 

Take me not through my bladder by Mr Alan Turner, FRCS

Bladder stone cause severe pain and urinary infestions, the pain is so severe that the Barber Surgeons' prayer was 'When my tine cometh please God take me not through my bladder'. Bladder stones had been known about since Hippocrates and Samuel Peyps, Oliver Cromwell and George IV are known to have suffered from stones. This 20 minute talk traces the treatement of bladder stones from the 1600s to the present day.

There's more to teeth than meets the eye by Mr Lynn Walters, FRCS

To most people the very mention of the word 'teeth' brings at best a shudder and at worst a feeling of panic. John Hunter took a very different view however and this 30 minute talk aims to show how important, useful and clever teeth can be!

Keyhole surgery by Professor Chris Wastell, FRCS

This 20 minute talk describes what keyhole surgery is, how it's done and the advancates for the patient - less pain, a more rapid recovery, and a much better cosmetic result. The subject is approached first from an anatomical and patho-physiological point of view by looking at the wax model by Joseph Towne, surgical instruments used in keyhole surgery are demonstrated and the talk concludes with a short surgical video.  There is an opportunity for questions and answers at the end.