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Description: | Over 10,000 specimens relatng to human and comparative dental anatomy and pathology, including about 3,500 preparations of human material, such as jaws, casts and 261 skulls, 200 dentures and 300 dental instruments. It is particularly famous for its unique collection of specimens illustrating various aspects of non-human dental pathology, which is made up of 2,000 animal skulls and is unrivalled anywhere in the world. In addition, it contains 4,000 normal animal skulls.
The collection contains important anatomical preparations donated by some of the founding figures of British dentistry in the mid-19th century, as well as examples of pathological conditions, such as phossy jaw, a bone necrosis common among Victorian match-makers. It is rich in material of historical importance, including Sir John Tomes' collection of human jaws and skulls of known sex and age at death and his pathological specimens; Sir Charles Tomes' collection of 1,800 microscope slides illustrating dental development in many species. Amongst many other items of interest are teeth retrieved from the battlefield of Waterloo; a necklace of human teeth brought from the Congo by the explorer Henry Morton Stanley; and a denture worn by Sir Winston Churchill.
The most notable human material acquired since the Second World War is an extensive collection of skulls from Breedon-on-the Hill, an Anglo-Saxon cemetery in Leicestershire. They have been used to establish criteria for the ageing of human remains on the basis of tooth wear. | Subjects: | dentistry anatomy Surgery People (medical) | Source: | Cornucopia - Discovering UK Collections | FAX: | +44 (0)20 7869 6564 | Telephone: | +44 (0)20 7869 6560 | Identifier: | oai:www.cornucopia.org.uk:5441 | Go to resource |
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