As one of the first brain surgeons, Harvey Cushing was a medical pioneer. Many think of him as the “father” of modern neurosurgery. During his tenure at Yale, he collected and stored samples of more than 600 human brains, which were donated to the university upon his death in 1939. These specimens, many cancerous, were once thought to disappeared… until now New York Times Article.
This past June, a medical student and Yale physician discovered this remarkable collection of specimens of which more than 500 have been preserved. The restored and preserved collections open a fascinating window into the history of neurosurgery.
The specimens are available for public viewing at Yale’s Cushing/Whitney Medical Library.
