Anatomical Museum

Part of the School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Edinburgh, this isn't a venue to casually drop by as it only opens nine days a year: last Saturday of the month, June, July and December excepted. Its Facebook page is a good way to check for details, search for 'Anatomical Museum - The University of Edinburgh'. It is worth making the effort to get in however as its existence reflects an enthusiasm for anthropology, craniology and comparative mammalian anatomy that flourished in the university medical faculty from around 150 years ago. Exhibits include elephant skeletons, craniology samples including the skull of the tutor of James I & VI, also models of heads and life and death masks made by the Edinburgh Phrenological Society. The skeleton of the infamous 19th century murderer William Burke is here too, the man who collaborated with William Hare to kill people then sell the bodies to anatomists keen to perform dissections.