The foetus in the museum: personhood, pregnancy, and anatomical preparations, 1880–1900.

In the late 19 century, the legal status of the anatomical specimen was only slowly evolving into its modern form. Not yet regulated by legislation, specimens were subject to rampant commodification and were exhibited, collected, bought, and sold, internationally as well as locally. This article con...

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Publicado en:Mortality Vol. 29; no. 2; pp. 231 - 252
Autor principal: Dandona, Jessica M.
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Taylor & Francis Ltd May2024
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Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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        atl: The foetus in the museum: personhood, pregnancy, and anatomical preparations, 1880–1900.
      aug:
        au: Dandona, Jessica M.
        affil: Liberal Arts Department, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
      su:
        United States
        Curriculum
        Museums
        Individuality
        Midwifery
        Human reproduction
        Abortion
        Obstetrics
        Childbirth
        Anatomy -- History
        Fetal anatomy
        Embryology
        Anatomy
        Human dissection
        Preservation of organs, tissues, etc.
        Operative surgery
        Veterinary dissection
        Medical schools
        Collection & preservation of biological specimens
      sug:
        subj:
          Curriculum
          Museums
          Individuality
          Midwifery
          Human reproduction
          Abortion
          Obstetrics
          Childbirth
          United States
          Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools
          Museums
          Anatomy -- History
          Fetal anatomy
          Embryology
          Anatomy
          Human dissection
          Preservation of organs, tissues, etc.
          Operative surgery
          Veterinary dissection
          Medical schools
          Collection & preservation of biological specimens
      keyword:
        Anatomical museums
        anatomical specimens
        art history
        childbirth
        human reproduction
        midwifery
        obstetrics
        Anatomical museums
        anatomical specimens
        art history
        childbirth
        human reproduction
        midwifery
        obstetrics
      ab: In the late 19 century, the legal status of the anatomical specimen was only slowly evolving into its modern form. Not yet regulated by legislation, specimens were subject to rampant commodification and were exhibited, collected, bought, and sold, internationally as well as locally. This article considers the status of anatomical preparations at a moment when medical school curricula were fast becoming standardised, surgical techniques increasingly refined, and methods for preserving the body perfected. Focusing on foetal remains, I explore how the use of anatomical specimens mediated between the well-established, if still controversial, practice of dissection and an increasing emphasis on the visual as a privileged mode of constructing the biomedical body. Through close analysis of specimens in British and American collections, I trace the shifting meanings, value, and significance attributed to anatomical preparations in this era. Linking foetal specimens to the medicalisation of pregnancy, contemporary discoveries in embryology, and growing debate around abortion, I argue that the emerging concept of foetal personhood challenged and inflected how specimens were understood, highlighting their hybrid nature as both potential human subjects and objects of knowledge. Through this encounter with death, I argue, viewers were invited to comprehend and articulate new notions of ‘life’ itself.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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