Holding a Book bound in Human Skin
It is hot and muggy in the upstairs gallery of Surgeons’ Hall in Edinburgh. I walk past shelves upon shelves of jars that contain 18th-century specimens suspended in liquid: a severed spine here, a cancerous bowel there. Compared with the lower level of the museum, it is eerily quiet up here. This section is not […]
The Bloody History behind the Barber’s Pole
I am thrilled to announce that I have been asked to blog for the Huffington Post. But don’t worry, kind readers! I will never abandon The Chirurgeon’s Apprentice. I will continue to post original content on this site in order to satisfy your voracious appetite for medical history. To keep you up-to-date on my latest morbid […]