Frederik Ruysch (1638-1731): Historical perspective and contemporary analysis of his teratological legacy.

ABSTRACT: The Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera) in Saint Petersburg is the oldest museum in Russia. It keeps the remains of the anatomical collection of the world-famous 17th century Dutch anatomist Frederik Ruysch. This unique collection was bought and shipped in 1717 by Czar Peter the Great, and presently still comprises more than 900 specimens, a modest number of which concerns specimens with congenital anomalies. We searched for teratological clues in the existing collection and in all his descriptions and correspondence regarding specimens and cases he encountered during his career as doctor anatomiae and chief instructor of the surgeons and midwives in Amsterdam. A total of 63 teratological specimens and case descriptions were identified in this legacy, inclu

SUBMITTER: Boer L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5215407 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature