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The Museum of Pathology is centrally situated on the fifth level, room 580, Blackburn Building. It houses approximately 1600 pathological specimens on permanent display. The Museum originated in the Anderson Stuart Building in 1889 and was designated 'The Museum of Normal and Morbid Anatomy'. The Museum has a very long History within the University of Sydney and has grown over many years since Dr A MacCormick (later Sir Alexander MacCormick) began the collection of specimens to illustrate lectures to students.
The first Honorary Curator, Dr S Jamieson, was appointed in 1893. The first preparator of specimens was Mr J Shewan. When the new medical school opened in 1933 the specimens were moved from Anderson Stuart to Blackburn where new specimens continue to be displayed.
The Curatorship of the Museum remained the responsibility of the Pathology Professor until 1976 when Professor Magarey relinquished the position to the preparator, Mr GL Morrison. Mr Morrison retired in 1998 and Mr G Holden was named Curator. He held the position until he departed in 2001. The current Curator is Mr M Kekic. Such was the expertise of Mr Morrison in the field of Medical Museum preparation that both local and overseas visitors would often spend intervals of up to one year learning his techniques. The facilities of the Museum are available for contract work from external sources.
The Museum is currently staffed by the Curator and an assistant who maintain the display and prepare specimens. The Museum's primary function lies in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching. However, visitors include nurses in training, physiotherapy trainees, school students and various other interest groups who can attend by appointment.
The Museum has completed an extensive computerised upgrade of its catalogued teaching specimens. These are stored on CD-ROM disks. To compliment this technology the Museum has purchased a slide maker which is capable of re-producing coloured slides from the CD-ROM catalogued specimens.
In addition to biological specimens, a display of laboratory instruments and equipment of historical interest was opened in the Museum of Pathology in August 1986 by the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Professor RS Gye. For some time the Curator has encouraged the donation of items to illustrate the history and development of laboratory medicine.
A number of the displayed objects have connections with former members of the University.
The most prized exhibit on display in the Museum is a flask of broth prepared by Louis Pasteur for the culture of bacteria.
The Museum has available a number of audio-visual units and microscopes to aid the undergraduate student.
In 1997 eighteen Macintosh computers were installed which are attached to both the Faculty and Departmental server. The Departmental server contains the computerised CD-ROM images and text of most of the specimens used in the bottle tutorials teaching series in the Undergraduate Medical Course. This new system allows students to revise these sessions, using the Internet, from the computers provided in the Museum, or from home access. With the new Graduate Medical Degree the computers will also provide computer assisted learning packages for student self assesment which can be accessed through the Faculty Server
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