The Mutter Museum of Medical History in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, is one of the world’s most extravagant museums. It displays many unexpected specimens, models, and ancient medical devices. The museum also houses various deformed human organs, such as limbs, body parts, and malformed fetuses. You can even find a 1kg prostate gland, a giant 36kg colon from constipation, a 66kg ovarian cyst, Einstein’s brain, or a tumor from a president.
The Mutter Museum, which first opened in 1849, is part of the oldest medical school in America, the Philadelphia College of Medicine. But the people who collect these unusual specimens aren’t entirely crazy. In fact, the museum’s founder was Thomas Dent Mutter, a widely celebrated and respected American surgeon.
Surgeon Thomas Dent Mutter.
He was a pioneer in the medical era during this backward time. Following the invention of ether anesthesia, Thomas Dent Mutter was the first surgeon in Philadelphia to use anesthetics, while his colleagues at the time opposed the invention. In addition to advancing the development of anesthesia, Dr. Mutter also advocated for cleanliness and sterilization, significantly reducing the risk of infection, before Pasteur proposed the germ theory.
Throughout his medical career, Dr. Mutter treated many patients with rare diseases that the world shunned. In that era rife with discrimination, he knew only that illness was illness and that they needed his treatment. Thus, these “monsters,” considered “incurable,” found a glimmer of hope in him. During his life dedicated to medicine, Mutter amassed a vast collection of specimens of unusual diseases. Before his death, he donated all of his “treasures” to the Philadelphia College of Medicine. He believed that these pathological specimens were the rarest teaching tools in medicine and needed to be preserved for future generations to learn from. This collection became the foundation of the Mutter Museum.
The Mutter Museum has grown to around 25,000 specimens, each with an extraordinary story behind it.
The Wall of Skulls
From the moment you step inside the museum, the most striking feature is the giant wall of human skulls.
The wall of human skulls is located near the entrance of the museum.
Beneath each skull is information about age, place of birth, and cause of death. These 139 human skulls are from Joseph Hyrtl (1810-1894) and are related to 19th-century physiology. Physiology is a pseudoscience that posits that a person’s intelligence, personality, and race can be inferred from the structure of their skull.
The shared liver of two Thai brothers.
Chang and Eng are Thai-American twins, but unlike other twins, they are conjoined at the chest and share a liver. Aside from these differences, they are two completely independent individuals.
The two brothers, Chang and Eng…
…and the liver in general.
In 1829, they were sold to America and began performing in circuses. By the age of 28, the two brothers had settled in America with their earnings and married a pair of English sisters, having 21 children.
In 1874, Eng died of lung disease, and Chang passed away two hours later. Chang’s death remains a mystery to this day. Their shared liver is currently housed in the Mutter Museum.
The bodies of conjoined twins.
Not all conjoined babies are as fortunate as Jim and James. The stillbirth rate for similar cases is extremely high, with around 40%–60% dying before birth and only 35% surviving for one day. Even if they are born, they will face a difficult period.
The two babies were conjoined.
Jim and James have two heads but only one body; they share one heart, one liver, one digestive system, and one reproductive system.
The “soap” woman
In 1875, a mummified woman was discovered in Philadelphia and became known as the “Soap Woman,” because her body was encased in a thick layer of wax, like a bar of soap.
The mummy was encased in a thick layer of wax.
A face with horns
Looking at the picture above, you might be shocked to learn that it’s a horn, and it’s a horn growing on a human. The Dimanche widow in Paris, France, in the 19th century suffered from a strange condition; a bizarre, sharp horn grew on her head for six years. In fact, many other people have also “grown horns” on various body parts, but none had a horn as long and large as hers.
The horn was cut off from Mrs. Dimanche’s head.
The replica model is located at the Mutter Museum.
At the time, doctors successfully removed the 25-foot-long horn from Madame Dimanche. The museum erected a similar model for display.
Coral Man
Among the museum’s bizarre exhibits, the most striking is the skeleton of Harry Eastlack. From a distance, it looks like an ordinary skeleton, but upon closer inspection, you’ll be surprised: the bones don’t resemble bones at all, but rather a coral reef.
The skeleton of Harry Eastlack.
Harry Eastlack suffers from a rare genetic condition called Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva, commonly known as calcification disease. With an incidence rate of approximately 1 in 2 million, the disease causes many parts of the body, such as muscles, tendons, and ligaments, to turn into bone.
Although the condition did not affect brain function or cognition, the newly formed bones could cause discomfort for the patient. By the time Eastlack was 15, his jaw had fused together permanently, preventing him from eating solid foods. Years later, he died of pneumonia.
What strange things have humans swallowed?
These samples were removed from the human body.
The Mutter Museum carefully preserves 2,374 specimens removed from human respiratory tracts and esophagus, including nails, safety pins, coins, medals, and toys of various sizes.
Glass jar containing human skin
A glass jar containing the leg skin of a 23-year-old girl.
The owner of this condition is a 23-year-old girl who enjoys peeling the skin off her legs. Furthermore, she not only enjoys peeling the skin but also extremely likes keeping the pieces of skin she pulls off. According to research, about 2-3% of the population suffers from this condition, mostly women.
The prostate gland weighs 1 kilogram.
An adult man has a prostate gland that weighs an average of about 35 grams, roughly the size of a walnut. Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is common in middle-aged and older men. An enlarged prostate can cause frequent urination, urinary incontinence, or difficulty urinating.
Nowadays, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is not a major problem and can be managed with medication or surgery. But a few centuries ago, this condition caused patients lifelong pain.
The colon of a person with lifelong constipation.
This belonged to Mr. JW, who suffered from congenital megacolon (Hirschsprung’s disease). He died while trying to defecate after suffering from constipation for 29 years. His colon weighed 18 kg and its widest point measured 76 cm in diameter.
This is a photo of Mr. JW when he was alive.
Mr. JW’s colon is now replaced by a museum with dried straw and cloth inside. Today, we rarely have the chance to see a colon that large because this disease can be cured with just a few minor procedures.
Ovarian cyst weighing 34kg
A woman’s normal ovaries weigh only about the length of her little finger. However, due to hormonal changes and other factors, ovarian cysts have become a common condition in women. Usually, these cysts are not uncomfortable and may disappear on their own. But some cysts will continue to grow and can only be removed surgically.
The cyst on display at the Mutter Museum belonged to Miss SM. It caused severe pelvic pain and organ displacement. In 1865, this ovarian cyst was surgically removed from the patient.
Patient SM before surgery to remove ovarian cyst weighed 34kg.
Many people visit the Mutter Museum out of curiosity, but once inside, they are overwhelmed by the information the specimens and the museum provide: the origins of the specimens, the pathologies, and how the diseases affected the lives of those afflicted. While in the past these diseases were considered terrifying and incurable, modern medicine can now treat them.