William Hunter's casts of the gravid uterus at the University of Glasgow

The Hunterian Collection at the University of Glasgow possesses 11 plaster casts showing the pregnant uterus. Three correspond to Plates I, IV, and VI of Hunter's Tile Anatomy of the Gravid Uterus Exhibited ill Figures (1774) , progressive stages of dissection of the same specimen. A further three ca sts show consecutive stages of dissection of a uterus containing a fetus pr esenting by the breech. The other specimens show a normal pregnancy at abou t 6 months, a normal full-term uterus with the fetal head becoming engaged. a breech presentation with placenta previa and the umbilical cord around t he fetal neck, and an obstructed labor with distended bladder and colon. Th e 10 on display show realistic coloring and are mounted on black wooden sta nds. An I 11th specimen, amateurishly painted, is not on display. The casts differ in their style; some show only the abdomen, pelvis, perineum, and t highs, others show the full torso. They also differ in the amount of detail shown. The first three casts show the cut femur and muscles at the transec ted ends of the thighs, also shown in some of the plates in the Gravid Uter us. Although these features enhance the artistic impact of both the engravi ngs and the casts, the authors are unconvinced that Hunter deliberately use d them to achieve this, as has been claimed. (C) 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.