Objective:

To describe a unique collection of wax models showing neurosurgical technique.

Background:

The first anatomic wax models used for medical purposes were made in the late 1600s in Italy.  In the 1800s, The Hôpital Saint-Louis in Paris became the home of French medical moulage.  

Design/Methods:

Review of archival material in the W. Bruce Fye Center for the History of Medicine at Mayo Clinic pertaining to wax models and Mayo Clinic neurosurgeon Alfred Adson.

Results:

The first wax models at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota were made in the 1920s.  An offer to create a medical exhibit at the 1933-1934 World’s Fair in Chicago, Illinois, spurred the development of medical moulage at Mayo Clinic.  Mayo Clinic physicians would often use wax models in exhibits at the yearly American Medical Association (AMA) meeting.  Moulages showing steps in surgical procedures were a prominent part of the Mayo collection.  Neurosurgeon Alfred Adson first displayed wax models showing the technique of operations on the brain and spinal cord at the 1934 AMA meeting, and other neurosurgical technique models were made over the next 10-20 years.  The neurosurgical models were generally based on medical illustrations published in articles by Adson.  A clay model of the image would be made, and then a plaster mold created, which was used to make the wax positive.  The Mayo Clinic medical moulage collection includes surgeries for gliomas, meningiomas, vestibular schwannoma, pituitary tumor, trigeminal neuralgia, skull defects, and spinal cord tumors.  The models can be directly compared to their original published medical illustrations.

Conclusions: