Musée Testut-Latarjet, Medical science museum in Rillieux-la-Pape, France.
The Testut-Latarjet Museum is a medical science repository in Rillieux-la-Pape holding roughly 20,000 specimens from anatomical study, including skeletons, skulls, and preserved organs in labeled vessels. The collection spans several areas such as comparative anatomy, embryology, bone science, and tropical disease study.
The museum began in 1854 when a surgeon named Marc-Antoine Petit donated his medical collection to a scientific society in Lyon. This initial gift became the foundation for the extensive holdings now on display.
The collection demonstrates how doctors and scientists understood the human body across different periods, showing how medical knowledge grew and changed through the work of many researchers over time.
Visiting requires advance booking since tours are guided and visits occur on specific days only. It is wise to reserve early to secure a place.
The collection holds the skull of a historical figure who inspired a well-known local character, along with death masks of famous inventors. The museum also preserves the remains of a street singer from the 1800s.
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