Preserving the Body: The Role of  a Human Remains Conservator

Date(s): 13 June 2024

Time: 7pm

Cost: £3

Age Restrictions: 16+

Booking Link: https://shop.museum.rcsed.ac.uk/products/preserving-the-body-the-role-of-a-human-remains-conservator

In this online talk join Surgeons' Hall Museums and Cat Irving  who will discuss the history behind preserving human remains and her work as a Human Remains Conservator.

The enemy of anatomists is decomposition, and in medical collections such as Surgeons’ Hall you can see various ways that human remains have been preserved. There are articulated skeletons and mounted bones, organs that are preserved in fluid, and tissue that has been dried out and coated in protective varnish. You might spot a silvery gleam of mercury, or a bright flash of red or blue wax. This talk by human remains conservator Cat Irving will examine the history behind these preservation methods, what she does to care for human remains and why they are still important today.

You will receive the details on how to access this Zoom event upon booking. This is a live event and will not be recorded. If you have any problems, please email museum@rcsed.ac.uk