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Museums
A look inside the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia
Aug. 20, 2025, 6:01 a.m. ET

The Mütter Museum in Philadelphia is part of the College of Physicians, a nonprofit organization dating to 1787.
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Erin McLeary, senior director of collections and research at the Mütter Museum, shows an exhibit featuring hearing aids and similar devices through history.
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One of the Mütter Museum's most popular collections contains items swallowed by patients over the years and retrieved by doctors and medical professionals.
Constance Mensh For The Mütter Museum Of The College Of Physicians Of Philadelphia
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.
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The Mütter Museum in Philadelphia has an iron lung on display, showing the progression of medical technology over the course of history.
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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.
Constance Mensh For The Mütter Museum Of The College Of Physicians Of Philadelphia
Casts at the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia show visual examples of different conditions affecting the eyes.
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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.
Constance Mensh For The Mütter Museum Of The College Of Physicians Of Philadelphia
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.
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The garden at the Mütter Museum feature medicinal plants and herbs.
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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.
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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.
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The Mütter Museum invited members of the public to weigh in on questions surrounding its collections, including ethics, educational value and historical context.
Constance Mensh For The Mütter Museum Of The College Of Physicians Of Philadelphia
A visitor reads one of the displays explaining items in the collection at the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia.
Constance Mensh For The Mütter Museum Of The College Of Physicians Of Philadelphia
An exhibit at the Mütter Museum examines the Covid-19 pandemic and its fallout.
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