Human Remains (Burges Collection of Materia Medica, late 1700s)

The Burges Collection contains many medicinal ingredients derived from the human body.
They include (from left to right): a roll of skin; a mummified jawbone with teeth; pieces of skull bone; a mummified hand and a lump of solidified blood.

These various objects were all considered at one time to contain medicinal properties, able to cure such ailments as epilepsy, muscle cramps, vomiting, and asthma.