The masks of Lorenzo Tenchini: their anatomy and surgical/bioengineering clues.

An academic, anatomist, and Lombrosian psychiatrist active at the University of Parma in Italy at the end of the 19th century, Lorenzo Tenchini produced ceroplastic-like masks that are unique in the anatomical Western context. These were prepared from 1885 to 1893 with the aim of 'cataloguing' the behaviour of prison inmates and psychiatric patients based on their facial surface anatomy. Due to the lack of any reference to the procedure used to prepare the masks, studies were undertaken by our group using X-ray scans, infrared spectroscopy, bioptic sampling, and microscopy analysis of the mask constituents. Results showed that the masks were stratified structures including plaster, cotton gauze/human epidermis, and wax, leading to a fabrication procedure reminiscent of 'additive layer manufacturing'. Differences in the depths of these layers were observed in relation to the facial contours, suggesting an attempt to reproduce, at least partially, the three-dimensional features of the facial soft tissues. We conclude the Tenchini masks are the first historical antecedent of the experimental method for face reconstruction used in the early 2000s to test the feasibility of transferring a complete strip of face and scalp from a deceased donor to a living recipient, in preparation for a complete face transplant. In addition, the layering procedure adopted conceptually mimics that developed only in the late 20th century for computer-aided rapid prototyping, and recently applied to bioengineering with biomaterials for a number of human structures including parts of the skull and face. Finally, the masks are a relevant example of mixed ceroplastic-cutaneous preparations in the history of anatomical research for clinical purposes.

An insight into the history of anatomopathological museums. Part 2.

The second part of the comprehensive work concerning pathology museums and collections presents their history since the 19th century. The evolution and specialisation of museums, depending on the attitude of their creators and geographic localization, have been analysed. The changing aspects of obtaining the exhibits and how they were preserved, presented, and stored are also a part of this work. The methods of human organ fixation reached excellence in the 19th century, but the rarity of some pathologies urged the scientists to recreate them artificially in models for didactic purposes. In the 19th and 20th centuries one could observe the flourishing development with a plateau and then decline from the second part of the 20th century to the reorientation of the museums that took place in Europe and North America. The history of anatomopathological museums is connected with ethical problems related to acquisition of exhibits in previous centuries and especially during World War II. The changing purpose of the collections, as well as their unclear future and the impact on the visitors, are evident. For the last 50 years, many museums have been closing completely, but some collections have been digitalised and are still in permanent use. The uniqueness of old specimens with certain diseases, often long gone and not observed anymore, makes them important in many aspects nowadays. Pathology museums are themselves relics of the past, being at the same time tangible proof of ways of development in medicine, but also a way of preservation of human knowledge in a special type of relation with the human body.

A ceroplastia e a medicina legal na Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, 1934-1950 / Ceroplastics and forensic medicine at the Faculty of Medicine, Universidade de São Paulo, 1934-1950

Resumo O artigo busca investigar as relações entre a ceroplastia e a institucionalização da disciplina de medicina legal na Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo. As peças em cera, representando doenças ou partes do corpo que seriam objeto da perícia médico-legal, foram produzidas por Augusto Esteves entre 1936 e 1960. Supõe-se que a produção ceroplástica representou o programa traçado por Flamínio Fávero, catedrático de medicina legal entre 1923 e 1955. A comparação entre as peças de cera do acervo do Museu Técnico-científico do Instituto Oscar Freire e o tratado de medicina legal de Fávero, publicado pela primeira vez em 1938, indica que tal suposição é plausível.

Abstract This article investigates the relationships between ceroplastics and the institutionalization of forensic medicine as a discipline at the Faculty of Medicine, Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil. The wax models, representing diseases or body parts that were the subject of medical forensic investigation, were produced by Augusto Esteves between 1936 and 1960. It is believed that the ceroplastic production represented the program devised by Flamínio Fávero, full professor of forensic medicine between 1923 and 1955. The comparison between the wax pieces at Museu Técnico-Científico (a science and technology museum) at Instituto Oscar Freire and the treatise on forensic medicine by Fávero, first published in 1938, indicates that such a supposition is plausible.