Medical museum in Philadelphia overhauls policies on human remains to meet modern ethical standards
 

A medical museum in Philadelphia has redrawn its policies on the collection and display of human remains, limiting its acceptance of additional specimens and working to follow “evolving modern medical ethical standards” in how it handles the 6,500 organs, bones and other body parts in its collection.

The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, which owns the Mütter Museum, announced it is restricting the taking of photos and videos of human remains, allowing it only with the museum’s permission. Photography by the public will remain prohibited.

The museum “will allow photography as long as it sort of serves an educational purpose,” said Sara Ray, its director of interpretation and engagement. “But education itself is a pretty broad net that we’re working through.”

The great majority of the remains were collected from about 1840 to about 1940, mostly from Philadelphia, largely body parts and organs that were considered to be helpful in medical education and taken during autopsies or surgery. Such collections were not uncommon among medical societies at a time when specimens were critical to understanding how the body is structured and how it works. But most of those museums are long gone.

The Mütter Museum said it is also working to “de-anonymize” its collection by looking into the personal histories of its human remains to figure out who they are, if possible, and to “do justice” in how it displays them and tells their stories. The goal is to exhibit them in the context of the history of medicine, bodily diversity and the tools and therapies used to treat them.

“The goal is not finding an identity for finding an identity’s sake,” Ray said. “The goal is to find an identity so that we can build a richer biographical profile, through which we can then ask questions about the way that this person navigated the world. And so that’s going to look very different for every single specimen.

Source : https://www.rarejob.com/dna/2025/09/21/medical-museum-in-philadelphia-overhauls-policies-on-human-remains-to-meet-modern-ethical-standards/

Comprehension

What new policy did the Mütter Museum announce regarding photography?
Under what conditions will the museum now allow photography of human remains?
How many human remains does the Mütter Museum currently have in its collection?
From what time period were most of the museum’s specimens collected?
Why were such collections common among medical societies in the past?
What does the museum mean by “de-anonymizing” its collection?
What is the museum’s goal in identifying the people whose remains are on display?
How does the museum plan to “do justice” to the people represented in its exhibits?

Discussion

Do you think it is ethical to display human remains in museums? Why or why not?
How do you feel about the museum’s decision to limit photography?
Why might people today view the collection of human remains differently than people 100 years ago?
In your opinion, what is the best way to balance education and respect in medical museums?
What do you think “doing justice” to the remains means in this context?
Should museums return human remains to the families or countries of origin if possible?
How does learning about medical history help people understand modern medicine?
Do you think visitors should have the right to take photos in museums like this one?
What are some ways museums can make their exhibits more ethical and respectful?
Would you be interested in visiting a museum like the Mütter Museum? Why or why not?

Vocabulary

Specimen – an individual example or sample, often used for study or display.
Remains – the parts of a body left after death.
Autopsy – a medical examination of a dead body to find out the cause of death.
De-anonymize – to identify someone who was previously unknown or unnamed.
Ethical – related to what is morally right or wrong.
Therapy – treatment to help a person recover from illness or injury.
Exhibit – to display something publicly for others to see.
Navigate – to find one’s way through or deal with different situations in life.