Alexander Monro 'secundus' full body dissection showing the lymphatic system. During the 1750's Alexander Monro 'secundus' (1733 - 1817) in Edinburgh and William Hunter (1728 - 1793) in London both claimed to have discovered that the lymphatics are an absorbent system quite independent of the circulation. The question of who discovered it first is still disputed. The lymphatics on cadavers in this period of history were preserved for display by being injected with mercury. The body was further preserved using a drying process after the dissection had taken place and then lacquered. There is an etching of this dissection on the wall of the museum. It is unusual as it is life size and was probably taken from a drawing by Andrew Fyffe who was artist and dissector to Monro 'secundus'. It was printed from three large copper plates. The lymphatics are currently displayed in a number of forms in the museum as in addition to the dissection and etching there is a 19th century wax model and a 20th century plastic model both of which are on display beside the etching. History Alexander Monro 'secundus' was Professor of Anatomy from 1758 until 1798. This anatomical preparation was part of his own collection of preparations and were gifted to the university in 1800 to be used for teaching anatomy and form the oldest part of the anatomical teaching collections today. This article was published on 2024-08-05
