Introduction

This chapter introduces the topic of the book: nineteenth-century anatomical collections. First, it explains how the study of such collections can help us handle the ethical challenges posed by the collections of bodily material that our medical institutions create and keep today. Then, it discusses existing historiography to show how the book contributes to solving an open question in the history of medicine: how could ‘old’ anatomical collections remain relevant in the new medicine that emerged in the nineteenth century? Third, the chapter defines the key concepts used in subsequent chapters; to conclude, it outlines the structure of the book.