Their value in modern medical education needs to be reaffirmed
Arguably the greatest claim to fame of the renowned English surgeon John Hunter was not his outstanding contribution to anatomy and surgery but the remarkable collection that now forms the Hunterian Museum in London.1 Hunter’s collection is testimony to his passion for science and his aptitude for self-directed enquiry, independent study and life-long learning. These attributes are now cherished cornerstones of modern medical education. Yet it is the adoption of these educational principles in modern medical curricula that is contributing to the demise of the time-honoured medical museum.
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- School of Pathology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW.
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