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A museum’s human remains collection updated after ‘Postmortem’ investigation

By CelebrityMediaManagementJanuary 26, 2026No Comments3 Mins Read1 Views

A museum’s human remains collection updated after ‘Postmortem’ investigation

PHILADELPHIA ‒ For years, the Mütter Museum leaned into its appeal as a repository of medical curiosities: dozens of human skulls, fetal specimens and skeletons of people with varying pathologies, for starters.

There were calendars with glossy photos and appearances on “The Late Show With David Letterman” by its late director, Gretchen Worden, as well as a YouTube channel with videos about death, illness and medical history.

But one big issue loomed over the museum ‒ the ethics of displaying human remains, many of them donated by physicians or from private collections. So beginning in 2023, it embarked on what it called a “Postmortem Project“: an effort to provide clarity and context to items within the collections.

The Mütter Museum in Philadelphia is part of the College of Physicians, a nonprofit organization dating to 1787.

Erin McLeary, senior director of collections and research at the Mütter Museum, shows an exhibit featuring hearing aids and similar devices through history.

One of the Mütter Museum’s most popular collections contains items swallowed by patients over the years and retrieved by doctors and medical professionals.

Among the items on display at the Mütter Museum is a cast of Chang and Eng Bunker, conjoined twins who were the subject of fascination in the 19th century. The twins’ autopsy was performed at the College of Physicians, the parent organization of the museum.

The Mütter Museum in Philadelphia has an iron lung on display, showing the progression of medical technology over the course of history.

Sara Ray (left) and Erin McLeary worked on the Mütter Museum’s Postmortem Project, doing research on its collections and crafting interpretive and interactive exhibits that hew to ethical and educational standards.

Casts at the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia show visual examples of different conditions affecting the eyes.

Dr. Larry Kaiser is CEO of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, the parent organization for the Mütter Museum. The museum examined its exhibits, many of which include human remains, as part of its Postmortem Project.

The Mütter Museum in Philadelphia has long had a reputation for its collections of human remains. It recently completed its Postmortem Project, inviting the public to examine the ethics, educational value and provenance of some of items it displays.

The garden at the Mütter Museum feature medicinal plants and herbs.

New displays at the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia help visitors understand issues surrounding the human remains in its exhibitions, including donors’ consent, educational and scientific context and ethical questions.

Displays at the Mütter Museum ask visitors questions about the human remains within their collection, dealing with legality, ethics, consent and who should tell the stories of the dead.

The Mütter Museum invited members of the public to weigh in on questions surrounding its collections, including ethics, educational value and historical context.

A visitor reads one of the displays explaining items in the collection at the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia.

An exhibit at the Mütter Museum examines the Covid-19 pandemic and its fallout.

collection Human investigation Museums Postmortem Remains Updated

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