142 HUMAN DISSECTION. ITS DRAMA AND STRUGGLE 



bers. Previously, he had trained both under William Cullen at 

 the University of Glasgow and William Smellie in London. He 

 started his classes in October, 1 746, advertising in the newspapers 

 under the title: "Learning the Art of Dissecting." Two years 

 later, he was joined by his brother John (1728-1793), who pos- 

 sessed a genius for experiment and observation which eclipsed 

 that of his brother. For eleven years, the pair taught anatomy to 

 huge classes, before a misunderstanding developed between them. 



William Hunter is classified as the first great teacher of anat- 

 omy in London and one of the great surgeon-anatomists. He also 

 carried on an obstetrical practice. His school was located on Great 

 Windmill Street. Eventually, in 1768, he built his own labora- 

 tory and worked there until his death. One of his outstanding 

 accomplishments, was to create a famous museum, on which, it is 

 estimated, he spent half-a-million dollars. He was an early riser, 

 a man of untiring energy who never married. Numerous papers 

 were published by him and some were based on original ana- 

 tomical observations. Hunter's ligament, guhernaculum, line and 

 membrane were named after him. John was disinherited by his 

 brother William before the latter's death. John refused to offer to 

 bury his brother and on April 4, 1783, London newspapers re- 

 quested that all of William Hunter's students each deposit a 

 guinea at a specified bank in order that he be given a proper 

 burial. In a will made thirteen years before, William had be- 

 queathed both his anatomical establishment, including his mu- 

 seum and 8,000 pounds, to the University of Glasgow. 



John Hunter also possessed untiring energy, industry and 

 perseverance and was the founder of comparative anatomy. 



Because the Hunters used the standards of student dissec- 

 tion, they helped to create a further demand for cadavers. Tn 

 1748, they had 20 students; in 1756, 100 (Brash, '30; ElHston, 

 1900; Mettler, '47; Packard, '37; Rohrer, '14; Rolleston, '39). 



One of the prized possessions today, in the famous Hun- 

 terian Museum, housed in the College of Surgeons, London, is 

 the skeleton of tlie Irishman O'Brien. Guttmacher ( > >) i;i\cs 

 its Ik I- lit as seven feet seven inches, Ball ('28) as eight feet four 

 indus. The death of this man in London in 1783 apparently 

 caused a sensation. The newspapers of the day were alive with 



