Teatro Anatomico

I found this place to be fascinating if creepy! In the centre of the theatre is a dissection table. There is a pair of “skinless” carved figures above the teacher’s chair, showing all the ligaments and muscles in painstaking detail.

As referenced in “Editor’s Perspective” in the April 2008 (Vol 31, No 4) issue of Surgical Rounds:

My, how times have changed! If you need prof of that statement, I recommend that you visit the Teatro Anatomico, an anatomy lecture/demonstration hall in the Palazzo dell’Archiginnasio in Bologna, Italy. This lecture hall exists as a testament to the study of anatomy, a subject that has seen its importance in medical school education progressively fade as first-year teaching time is reallocated to glitzier, more touchy-feely subjects.