The tannization of human tissues: A nineteenth-century educational preservation technique at the Morgagni Museum

Abstract

Lodovico Brunetti (1813–1899), professor of pathological anatomy at the University of Padua and founder of the Museum of Pathological Anatomy, believed that anatomical preparations were essential for the practice and teaching of pathological anatomy. At his arrival in Padua in 1855, there were around 300 made by other professors of medicine, including some by Giovanni Battista Morgagni, preserved either in liquid or dry. These conservation methods did not satisfy Brunetti, as they drastically altered the shape of the anatomical pieces (reduced by mummification and dilated in liquid); thus, he decided to create a new method called “tannization,” for the use of tannic acid. Brunetti's new method was based on dissection and injection techniques, and it had the substantial advantage of maintaining unchanged the shape and texture of the anatomical specimens, even microscopically, as well as being not so expensive. Another important advantage consisted in the fact that the different stages of the preparation could be put into practice even at different times and at a considerable distance from each other. His specimens seemed to be mummified, but they maintained a remarkable elasticity and softness, as well as almost completely unaltered proportions. Today, the Morgagni Museum of the University of Padua still preserves several tannized preparations attributable to Brunetti and his successors. The current study aims to show the educational value of this method showing the results of Brunetti's tannization nowadays.