Cat Irving
@anatomicalcat.bsky.social
Human Remains Conservator at Surgeons’ Hall. Snake charmer. Beagle feeder. All-round general necromancer
The ossuary of Eggenburg in Austria
November 15, 2025 at 5:14 PM
The ossuary of Eggenburg in Austria
It was planned at a time when Resurrectionists - or body snatchers - were rife. However, completion was planned for 1832, but delays meant that it was only ready for use in January 1833. By this time the 1832 Anatomy Act had passed which would largely put the body snatchers out of business.
November 11, 2025 at 6:51 PM
It was planned at a time when Resurrectionists - or body snatchers - were rife. However, completion was planned for 1832, but delays meant that it was only ready for use in January 1833. By this time the 1832 Anatomy Act had passed which would largely put the body snatchers out of business.
This is Udny Green Morthouse, Aberdeenshire, a round building with a heavy oak door. Inside is a 5.5m cast iron turntable. Coffins would be put in and moved around for up to 3 months before being taken out for burial - by which point they were no use to anatomists
November 11, 2025 at 6:51 PM
This is Udny Green Morthouse, Aberdeenshire, a round building with a heavy oak door. Inside is a 5.5m cast iron turntable. Coffins would be put in and moved around for up to 3 months before being taken out for burial - by which point they were no use to anatomists
Forgot to post the ghosts I made last weekend (delicious, though some of them vomited their filling over their own eyes while in the oven.)
November 8, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Forgot to post the ghosts I made last weekend (delicious, though some of them vomited their filling over their own eyes while in the oven.)
A plate from Anatomie générale des viscères by Jacques-Fabien Gautier D’Agoty (1752). It is an early example of colour printing, using engraved metal plates to make four separate impressions in black, red, yellow, and blue inks to produce the final image
November 8, 2025 at 5:19 PM
A plate from Anatomie générale des viscères by Jacques-Fabien Gautier D’Agoty (1752). It is an early example of colour printing, using engraved metal plates to make four separate impressions in black, red, yellow, and blue inks to produce the final image
A scene from the Totentanz - Dance of Death - in Bleibach, Germany, which dates to 1723, and still has all 34 scenes - made up of 33 couples and a skeletal band - along with the accompanying text, making it one of the most complete in Europe. This scene shows Death with the Burgher.
November 5, 2025 at 7:20 PM
A scene from the Totentanz - Dance of Death - in Bleibach, Germany, which dates to 1723, and still has all 34 scenes - made up of 33 couples and a skeletal band - along with the accompanying text, making it one of the most complete in Europe. This scene shows Death with the Burgher.
The central figure is Vincenzo Piccini, the last abbot of the brotherhood who founded the chapel. He was also an amateur chemist and had tried to replicate the process that had preserved the bodies, instructing that he should be preserved this way after death, and displayed in the chapel.
November 4, 2025 at 8:30 PM
The central figure is Vincenzo Piccini, the last abbot of the brotherhood who founded the chapel. He was also an amateur chemist and had tried to replicate the process that had preserved the bodies, instructing that he should be preserved this way after death, and displayed in the chapel.
I said that I would post more about my visit to the Chiesa dei Morti. The church contains 18 preserved remains which have been displayed in cases since 1833. The majority were preserved by natural processes which occurred in the burial ground, and were discovered when the bodies were being relocated
November 4, 2025 at 8:30 PM
I said that I would post more about my visit to the Chiesa dei Morti. The church contains 18 preserved remains which have been displayed in cases since 1833. The majority were preserved by natural processes which occurred in the burial ground, and were discovered when the bodies were being relocated
A bisected skeleton in the University of Siena. This is very useful to help understand some anatomical features - here you can see clearly see the arterial grooves for the middle meningeal artery insid the skull. These grooves come from pulsation of the blood putting pressure on the bone
November 3, 2025 at 9:54 PM
A bisected skeleton in the University of Siena. This is very useful to help understand some anatomical features - here you can see clearly see the arterial grooves for the middle meningeal artery insid the skull. These grooves come from pulsation of the blood putting pressure on the bone
A wax model showing the anatomy of the eye. The sclera - the white of the eye - is peeled back to reveal the nerves going to the iris. Doesn’t it look like a flower?
October 26, 2025 at 7:31 PM
A wax model showing the anatomy of the eye. The sclera - the white of the eye - is peeled back to reveal the nerves going to the iris. Doesn’t it look like a flower?
Skulls of Santa Croce…
October 22, 2025 at 7:03 PM
Skulls of Santa Croce…
Dissected torso produced in wax by the famed Florentine modeller Clemente Susini
October 17, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Dissected torso produced in wax by the famed Florentine modeller Clemente Susini
This is the Capella dos Ossos in Faro, Portugal, with autumnal light slanting beautifully over the bones. I could hear small children laughing in the playground behind the chapel, emphasising the fragility of the boundary between life and death, reminding me to appreciate the small beauties in life
October 14, 2025 at 7:08 PM
This is the Capella dos Ossos in Faro, Portugal, with autumnal light slanting beautifully over the bones. I could hear small children laughing in the playground behind the chapel, emphasising the fragility of the boundary between life and death, reminding me to appreciate the small beauties in life
Went shopping. Came home with a skeleton.
October 12, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Went shopping. Came home with a skeleton.
One of the places I visited whilst on holiday in Italy last week was the wonderful anatomy museum at the University of Siena. This is a preparation showing eye anatomy made from human bone and wax dating to 1887.
October 9, 2025 at 8:46 PM
One of the places I visited whilst on holiday in Italy last week was the wonderful anatomy museum at the University of Siena. This is a preparation showing eye anatomy made from human bone and wax dating to 1887.
Very much looking forward to chatting to @mollyconisbee.bsky.social about this extraordinary - and beautiful! - book tomorrow for Dissecting the Author at @surgeonshall.bsky.social .This is an online event, and you can join us by getting a ticket here:
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/dissecting...
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/dissecting...
October 8, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Very much looking forward to chatting to @mollyconisbee.bsky.social about this extraordinary - and beautiful! - book tomorrow for Dissecting the Author at @surgeonshall.bsky.social .This is an online event, and you can join us by getting a ticket here:
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/dissecting...
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/dissecting...
I ended up spending longer in Bologna than expected this week, and this was one of the unexpected delights of that extra time. It’s an early sixteenth century tondelli - round stained glass window - showing the Triumph of Death, made in the German regions, and based on an engraving by Albrecht Dürer
October 5, 2025 at 3:20 PM
I ended up spending longer in Bologna than expected this week, and this was one of the unexpected delights of that extra time. It’s an early sixteenth century tondelli - round stained glass window - showing the Triumph of Death, made in the German regions, and based on an engraving by Albrecht Dürer
Revisiting the wonderful models of La Specola today.
October 2, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Revisiting the wonderful models of La Specola today.
Today I visited the Chiesa dei Morte - the Church of the Dead - in Urbania. I’ll post more about this soon…
September 30, 2025 at 8:53 PM
Today I visited the Chiesa dei Morte - the Church of the Dead - in Urbania. I’ll post more about this soon…
Another one of Dr Louis Auzoux’s ‘anatomie clastique’ mannequins - life-sized anatomical statues made from his own special papier-mâché, which can be taken apart to explore the anatomy. I’ve seen many of these, but they always make me happy. This particular one is in the Medical Museum in Brussels
September 22, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Another one of Dr Louis Auzoux’s ‘anatomie clastique’ mannequins - life-sized anatomical statues made from his own special papier-mâché, which can be taken apart to explore the anatomy. I’ve seen many of these, but they always make me happy. This particular one is in the Medical Museum in Brussels
I have indeed been to the Narrenturm! (Though if this photo is to be believed I didn’t open my eyes ;p). The heart is in the collection of the Josephinum, which is a short walk from there.
September 21, 2025 at 6:06 PM
I have indeed been to the Narrenturm! (Though if this photo is to be believed I didn’t open my eyes ;p). The heart is in the collection of the Josephinum, which is a short walk from there.
A wax model showing the heart, viewed from behind. It was made in the eighteenth century by Clemente Susini in Florence, and was part of a collection of more than a thousand models shipped to Vienna to be used for teaching at Joseph II’s new academy of military medicine.
September 21, 2025 at 5:38 PM
A wax model showing the heart, viewed from behind. It was made in the eighteenth century by Clemente Susini in Florence, and was part of a collection of more than a thousand models shipped to Vienna to be used for teaching at Joseph II’s new academy of military medicine.
‘Exquisite Pain’ - Damien Hirst’s take on the flayed figure of St Bartholomew, brandishing a scalpel in homage to those people whose skin had been removed for anatomical study in neighbouring St Bart’s hospital. In the gloriously beautiful Romanesque church of St Bartholomew the Great
September 17, 2025 at 6:47 PM
‘Exquisite Pain’ - Damien Hirst’s take on the flayed figure of St Bartholomew, brandishing a scalpel in homage to those people whose skin had been removed for anatomical study in neighbouring St Bart’s hospital. In the gloriously beautiful Romanesque church of St Bartholomew the Great
Who wants to hear me talk about the Dance of Death? That’s what I’m going to be doing on Thursday - it’s online, and you can get tickets here:
thelasttuesdaysociety.org/event/will-y...
thelasttuesdaysociety.org/event/will-y...
September 16, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Who wants to hear me talk about the Dance of Death? That’s what I’m going to be doing on Thursday - it’s online, and you can get tickets here:
thelasttuesdaysociety.org/event/will-y...
thelasttuesdaysociety.org/event/will-y...
Being back in Bavaria reminded me of this church I visited last time I was there in 2023. The Purgatory Chapel of St Michael’s Church in Untergriesbach has a small collection of skulls, some of which are painted
September 15, 2025 at 7:04 PM
Being back in Bavaria reminded me of this church I visited last time I was there in 2023. The Purgatory Chapel of St Michael’s Church in Untergriesbach has a small collection of skulls, some of which are painted