Hey all-- About a month ago, I received from the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia two skeletal human torsos (from pelvic girdle to occipital) which had been prepared originally by an anatomist here at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (where I am the Collections Manager) in the early 1950's. The method of preparation is unusual--muscle attachments and ligaments are left in situ and the spines retain even forty-six years later great flexibility, allowing a normal range of flexion and extension. Of course they are loaded with arsenic and mercury, so they are not something that you'd want to handle every day. The preparation was designed by H.V. Halladay, an osteopathic physician from Kirksville, Mo, in the early 1910's and I am trying to find out whether any more of these exist in museums, archives, anatomy departments, etc. Until I came here, I had never heard of them and I had thought I was pretty well-versed in anatomy and forensic sciences. If you know about these spines, please let me know--I am beginning to catalog those still in existence and am also trying to determine how many were ever made. Because they stink like you wouldn't believe and I know of one county coroner who almost cremated some, I fear that they are likely to have been discarded or destroyed. Also, they may be kept in special containers--Halladay suggested building a humidor-like chamber in which to store these spines and those I received earlier were in a plexi box inside another, wooden, box. If any of this sounds familiar to you, please contact me so we can compare notes. Thanks, Matthew Rowley Collections Manager Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine [log in to unmask]