Imagine a room that is a separate beautiful architectural structure inside another building. This room is an amphitheater, but much smaller. Interested spectators sat on the benches arranged in a circle, and in the center, on a wooden table, an action was taking place … No, this is not a magical ritual, although in terms of its significance, what is happening can probably be equated with it. An autopsy of a human body is taking place in the center of the room, and the interested spectators on the benches are medical students. There were many such educational institutions in the Middle Ages, and these are anatomical theaters.
What is anatomical theater
So, why and where were such halls built? What are anatomical theaters and do they exist in the present? Let's figure it out together.
The Anatomy Theater is a special institution used by universities to teach students the science of healing. In the center of the room, an autopsy of a human or animal body was going on. Interestingly, at the same time, real skeletons could sit on the benches next to the audience,used as teaching aids. Many students not only watched the action taking place before their eyes, but also outlined what they saw and the comments of teachers. Well, judging by medieval illustrations, some observers were holding posters with inscriptions like Memento Mori, which literally means “Remember death.”
Anatomical theatres. History
The first anatomical theater was built in 1594 at the University of Padua. It has survived to this day. A little later, in 1596, a similar educational institution was opened at Leiden University. In 1637, an anatomical theater appeared in Bologna.
Another historical fact is also interesting. In the 19th century, the anatomical theater was opened by a prominent American statesman, author of the Declaration of Independence and concurrently the third US President Thomas Jefferson. However, this educational institution did not last long and was destroyed before the outbreak of World War II.
The most beautiful and active so far
What kind of anatomical theaters exist today and are autopsies performed in them to this day? Which of the world's institutions of this kind can rightly be called the most beautiful?
Anatomical theater in London at the Church of St. Thomas is still operating. It was opened in the 19th century, and since the 60s of the last century - after reconstruction - it has existed as a museum. There is also an operating anatomical theater in the Netherlands, in Amsterdam. The picturesque old building was built in the XVcentury, and two centuries later a special building of the university was opened in it. By the way, the inscription Theatrum Anatomicum above the entrance to the building is still distinguishable, but no one else performs an autopsy here. This room now hosts scientific community meetings.
One of the most beautiful anatomical theaters that have survived to this day is Sala Gimbernat in Barcelona (Italy). The walls of the hall are draped with rich purple velvet, the interior is marble and gilded. From the same noble white marble, the operating table was also made, on which autopsies were performed in ancient times. Today, a museum is open here.
Russia: Petersburg, Peter I and the Kunstkamera
In 1698, Peter I visited the Leiden anatomical theater. There, the sovereign met Professor Frederick Ruysch, and also took several lessons in medicine from him. In 1706, the first anatomical theater was opened in Russia, and the famous Dutch professor Nicholas Bidloo was invited to teach there. It is interesting that Peter I himself was interested in the science of the structure of the human body and repeatedly performed autopsies and dissected corpses with his own hands.
In 1726 the anatomical theater was transferred to the building of the Kunstkamera. Research activities were still carried out here, led by professors invited from Germany and Holland. Then the theater was moved to the building of the Academy of Sciences, and by the beginning of the 19th century this research institution gradually lost its significance.
Kazan Anatomical Theater
However, not only in St. Petersburg it was possible to study the structure of the human body, watching a demonstration of an autopsy. An anatomical theater also existed on the territory of the present Republic of Tatarstan. Kazan and its museum-theater of the human body are still opening their doors to interested observers, but now autopsies are not performed here. Currently, the building of the former anatomical theater houses a museum belonging to the Department of Normal Anatomy of the Kazan State Medical University.
Medical students come to class here. A library and a cinema hall are equipped here for them, as well as a variety of anatomical preparations are exhibited. Interested tourists can also come here, a lecture will be given by the museum guide.
Anatomical theaters in Russia and the world have survived to this day. Many of them today operate as museums, some have become meeting places for the medical scientific community. However, the historical value of anatomical theaters is indisputable, and our task is to preserve them for future generations.
