RSU Receives Unique Anatomical Collection from Basel

On 1 April, Oscar Baldomero, curator of the anatomical collection of Professor Arthur von Hochstetter (1918–1997), and Professor Aigars Pētersons, Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU) Rector, signed a gift agreement in Basel, Switzerland. The agreement outlines transferring several unique 17th-20th century anatomical specimens to the RSU Anatomy Museum.

Prof. Pētersons: ‘Rīga Stradiņš University is a European research university that has always emphasised the importance of the history of medicine in healthcare professionals’ education. Receiving the gift of this unique collection affirms RSU’s good reputation and the quality of its research at an international level.’

‘The gift of this historical collection comes after more than ten years of academic collaboration between the RSU Institute of the History of Medicine and Swiss medical historians. Students and researchers at RSU have already benefitted from the cooperation, and soon everyone who visits the RSU Anatomy Museum will be able to appreciate its contribution to Latvian medical museology,’ says Professor Juris Salaks, Director of the RSU Institute of the History of Medicine.

‘The collection we will take over is absolutely unique. Several of the specimens are probably the only ones of their kind in the world. They reflect the history of anatomy from the 17th century up until the early 20th century. I admire all those people like Prof. Hochstetter, Baldomero and other anatomists before them who have managed to preserve this collection over so many years. I feel a great sense of responsibility and pride that the RSU Anatomy Museum has been entrusted with this task,’ says Assistant Professor Ieva Lībiete, Head of the RSU Anatomy Museum.

Since 1997, the historical collection has been stored in Basel at Hoffmann-La Roche. The company is driven by humanitarian and educational purposes and has so far provided the collection with the necessary premises and has been preserved by preparator and anatomy historian Baldomero. Last year, when the collection’s curator heard about the newly opened RSU Anatomy Museum, he decided to gift the most unique specimens. This will ensure that the specimens will be preserved in the long term and be made publicly available for the educational purposes.

Representatives of the RSU Institute of the History of Medicine and the RSU Anatomy Museum – Professor Juris Salaks and Assistant Professor Ieva Lībiete – visited the collection in person.

There are plans to transfer the collection to Riga at the end of 2022. Before this can happen, however, the specimens need additional examination and to be partially or completely restored and prepared for display in the RSU Anatomy Museum’s permanent exhibition.