Since ancient times, the primary way to teach and learn anatomy have been to dissect human cadavers.
Students can watch a surgery on a screen from the classroom.
The Agnew Clinic by American artist Thomas Eakins, 1889.
Many Renaissance-era universities had specially built operating rooms with galleries for the students to watch the action from.
These were called anatomical theaters.
At the center of the theater stood the operating table, where the surgeons performed.
Surrounding this table were several tiers of seating like in a Roman amphitheater.
From these advantageous positions, observers could get a good view of the proceedings.
Indeed, some surgeons seemed to revel in the showmanship aspect of their work.
These should be skilled men who have conducted several dissections.
Seating must be allotted in order of rank.
There must then be one Praefectus to keep an eye on everything and to put people in their places.
There must be guards to restrain the eager public as it enters.
Two reliable stewards should be chosen to make the necessary payments from the money that is collected.
In those days dissections were few and far between.
The oldest permanent anatomical theater in Padua, Italy.
The first permanent anatomical theater was built at the University of Padua, in Northern Italy, in 1594.
The anatomical theater of Padua held about 250 spectators in six concentric galleries.
The second and third rows were reserved for students.
The fourth, fifth and sixth rows were for other spectators.
The anatomical theater in Padua.
Photo:Lanoyta/Wikimedia Commons
A full dissection sometimes stretched to two weeks.
Dissections were also carried out in the colder months to delay putrefaction.
The theater remains a matter of pride for the University and is still preserved.
Because of these exhibitions, the theater became a significant tourist attraction.
The theatre finally closed in 1821 when the department of anatomy was transferred to a new building.
The anatomical theater in Leiden.
The seats were carved and the walls were adorned with the signs of the Zodiac.
Public dissections were like grand shows, lasting three days and ending with a feast.
One of the finest anatomical theaters was in Bologna, Italy.
For three hundred years the theater was an object of reverence and admiration among visitors.
It was completely destroyed during the Second World War.
The anatomical theater in Bologna.
Photo:Fotokon | Dreamstime.com
The anatomical theater in Bologna.
Photo:Joaquin Ossorio Castillo | Dreamstime.com
By the early 20th century, anatomical theaters had become obsolete.
But it was the germ theory that brought death to the anatomical theater.
