Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê Pathology Collections is an irreplaceable collection with important clinical teaching and research significance, consisting of some 6,000 specimens and objects. It comprises a series of sub-collections which originate from the incorporation of several London teaching and research hospitals, primarily the medical schools of Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê and the Royal Free Hospital, but also includes the Great Ormond Street Hospital.
The core collection includes fluid-preserved human pathology specimens alongside skeletal material, foreign bodies, wax models, plaster casts and histopathology slides. With the exception of some historic specimens, most of the collections date back to the 20th Century.
The majority of the Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê Pathology Collections specimens are housed at the Royal Free Campus of the Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê School of Life and Medical Sciences. A small part of the collections are stored in a variety of locations on the Bloomsbury and Whittington sites for teaching. The Royal Free Collections’ spaces include a museum display area along with specimens in visible storage as reference collections. There are also dedicated storage areas for the historic collections, along with workshops for the conservation and maintenance of the Collection.
The Collections are part Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê Museums, a dynamic and growing service that has won national awards. The museums are part of the Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê Public and Cultural Engagement (PACE) department that also includes the university’s Public Engagement Unit and the Bloomsbury Theatre.
Promoting research and teaching with these collections is a high priority, and Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê Museums play a key role in engaging new audiences with Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê’s academic work. We aim to cement the role of Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê Pathology Collections at Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê by working with colleagues across the university to include specimens from Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê Pathology Collections in these activities.