When you were a child, you might remember reading in a book of Ripley’s Believe It or Not , the strange case of Phineas P. Gage, suddenly famous because a metal rod in an explosion went through his skull, and he survived. The accident happened on September 13, 1848, in Cavendish, Vermont. Gage quickly became a medical curiosity, living for another twelve years. After his death, his skull was sent to a Dr. Harlow, who then gave it to Harvard, and today, you can see his skull, his life mask and the iron rod, all at the Warren Anatomical Museum .
The museum was established by Dr. John Collins Warren, who gave Harvard Medical School the original collection. His wishes included that the museum maintain the collection, add to them when possible, and to make them available and useful for the study of anthropology, medicine, and the history of science. For those interested in the unusual, there are plenty of exhibits here, including not only the skull and iron rod of Phineas Gage, but a plaster cast of a seven fingered hand, a rare condition known as “mirror hand.”
Travelers staying at a Boston hotel may easily visit the museum, located at 10 Shattuck Street, on the fifth floor of the Countway Library of Medicine. The museum is free to the public, although it’s wise to call ahead at 617-432-4888 in order to verify the Monday through Friday, nine to five hours of exhibition.
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