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Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh Live
National
Tim McNulty

Here are the five creepiest things you can see at Edinburgh's Surgeon's Hall museum

One of the oldest museums in Scotland is also one of the more hair-raising thanks to the range of weird medical relics on display.

Edinburgh's Surgeons' Hall Museum holds the secrets of the capital's renowned medical history.

Featuring chilly accounts of disease, dissections and a large collection of curious tools used in rudimentary treatments.

From a portion of tattooed skin, a corrosion cast of a human heart and amputation knives there are a lot of gritty artifacts to behold.

Here are the top five creepiest things you can see at the museum. Oh, just a word of warning: some these photos are quite icky.

Corrosion cast of a human heart

Corrosion cast showing the vascularity of the human heart (Surgeons' Hall Museums)

This corrosion cast shows the vascularity of the heart.

The blood vessels of the heart have been injected with blue and red wax.

Dental pliers

18th century dental forceps (Surgeons' Hall Museums)

These dental forceps date from the early 18th century.

They were used for the removal of maxillary molars and were most likely made by a blacksmith.

Tattooed skin of a deserter

A 'deserters' skin in the museum collection (Surgeons' Hall Museums)

 

A portion of skin with ‘D’ tattooed on it, taken from underneath the left armpit of a soldier.

The letter ‘D’ stood for ‘Deserter’ and was a permanent mark to show the individual had tried to leave the Army or Navy illegally.

This practice was abolished in the 19th century.

Amputation knives

Set of surgical knives (Surgeons' Hall Museums)

These amputation knives and saw were owned by James Syme.

Syme was a leading surgeon of his day due to his pioneering surgical technique.

Tapeworms

Tapeworms from Surgeons’ Hall Museum’s archives (Surgeons' Hall Museums)

These parasitic worms were used in early twentieth century as 'diet pills'. Er, no thanks.

Join our nostalgic Facebook group Edinburgh Back In Time for more fascinating facts about Edinburgh's history.

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