Waxes and anatomical models

The wax models of the Museum of Veterinary Anatomy.

The collection purchased at the end of the 19th century by the museum director Prof. Giovanni Paladino for the remarkable figure of 633 lira, consists of 91 wax preparations depicting various stages of development of organs and apparatus of Man and Birds (chicken). A series of 23 models shows the development phases of an oligolecitic egg; five series (48 models) show the development of the face, brain, eye, heart and genitals in Man; a series of 20 models shows the development of the embryo and some organs of the chicken. A scientific description of the collection along with historical information is presented in a volume edited by the University of Naples Federico II on the occasion of the bicentennial celebrations of the foundation of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in 1998.