William Hunter's Gravid Uterus: the specimens and plates

Abstract

William Hunter's collection of anatomical specimens of the pregnant uterus forms one of the finest displays in the Anatomy Museum at the University of Glasgow. We were interested to know which specimens in the Museum matched the plates in Hunter's The Anatomy of the Human Gravid Uterus Exhibited in Figures (1774). In our investigation we were greatly assisted by Teacher's Catalogue of the Anatomical and Pathological Preparations of Dr William Hunter (1900). Thirteen specimens in the Museum and one from the pathological collection at the Royal Infirmary are represented in Hunter's book. The specimens can be recognized in 25 of its illustrations. A further three specimens may correspond to figures but we could not prove this. With one possible exception, all the specimens matching plates noted in Teacher's catalogue remain in the Museum and one believed missing in Marshall's (1970) revision of the catalogue has been found.