The Gordon Museum of Pathology – A Living Resource for Medical Discovery

Part museum, part medical teaching facility, part macabre time capsule, the Gordon Museum is home to a collection of approximately 8,000 pathological specimens, with the oldest dating from 1608 and the most recent added in 2025. From the beginning, the museum was envisioned as a teaching resource devoted to human material. That remains at its heart today.

A hands-on education

Flying in the face of the ‘don’t touch’ policy of traditional museums, at the Gordon Museum, you’re actively encouraged to interact with the collection. The organs, limbs and tissues preserved in glass can be picked up and studied from every angle.

‘Although if you break something, you have to replace it personally,’ jokes Bill Edwards, the avuncular curator of the museum.

This physical interaction is central to the museum’s mission. As the largest medical teaching museum in the UK, it plays an unparalleled role in training thousands of medical students and healthcare professionals each year.

‘Looking at high-resolution images in a textbook or online can help build knowledge, but it cannot convey the weight, scale, texture and three-dimensional complexity of an actual organ,’ explains Bill. ‘To hold a diseased lung in your hands is to truly understand the damage tuberculosis can inflict. To examine the arteries of a preserved heart is to grasp in a visceral way the consequences of coronary disease.’

Each specimen is accompanied by notes on how the patient presented, something that speaks directly to our shared humanity, as Bill stresses. ‘Reading these notes, then holding the relevant specimen, is a powerful reminder of the person behind the condition. Clinical detachment is necessary, but never at the expense of the patient’s, or our own, humanity.’

That depth of experience is why generations of King’s students consider the Gordon Museum to be one of the most valuable resources available to them.

Human material on shelves at the Gordon Museum

If you studied medicine at King’s, you’ll likely have visited the Gordon Museum of Pathology. Blending centuries of history with innovation, the museum brings pathology (the study of disease) alive. Join us as we delve into a collection that combines the traditional and modern to create a unique learning environment.

Part museum, part medical teaching facility, part macabre time capsule, the Gordon Museum is home to a collection of approximately 8,000 pathological specimens, with the oldest dating from 1608 and the most recent added in 2025. From the beginning, the museum was envisioned as a teaching resource devoted to human material. That remains at its heart today.

Human material on shelves at the Gordon Museum

Human material on shelves at the Gordon Museum

A hands-on education

Flying in the face of the ‘don’t touch’ policy of traditional museums, at the Gordon Museum, you’re actively encouraged to interact with the collection. The organs, limbs and tissues preserved in glass can be picked up and studied from every angle.

‘Although if you break something, you have to replace it personally,’ jokes Bill Edwards, the avuncular curator of the museum.

This physical interaction is central to the museum’s mission. As the largest medical teaching museum in the UK, it plays an unparalleled role in training thousands of medical students and healthcare professionals each year.

‘Looking at high-resolution images in a textbook or online can help build knowledge, but it cannot convey the weight, scale, texture and three-dimensional complexity of an actual organ,’ explains Bill. ‘To hold a diseased lung in your hands is to truly understand the damage tuberculosis can inflict. To examine the arteries of a preserved heart is to grasp in a visceral way the consequences of coronary disease.’

Each specimen is accompanied by notes on how the patient presented, something that speaks directly to our shared humanity, as Bill stresses. ‘Reading these notes, then holding the relevant specimen, is a powerful reminder of the person behind the condition. Clinical detachment is necessary, but never at the expense of the patient’s, or our own, humanity.’

That depth of experience is why generations of King’s students consider the Gordon Museum to be one of the most valuable resources available to them.

A rare collection of artefacts

Also on display at the Gordon Museum of Pathology:

Joseph Towne’s unflinching anatomical waxworks, meticulously sculpted from real patients.

Lam Qua’s haunting portraits of 19th-century Chinese pre-op tumour patients (pictured).

Joseph Lister’s first antiseptic spray, used at Guy’s Hospital, which laid the foundation for modern hospital sterilisation practices.

Alan the mummy, a late taxi driver who volunteered to be the first person for 2,000 years to be preserved like the ancient Egyptians.

A rare collection of artefacts

Also on display at the Gordon Museum of Pathology:

Joseph Towne’s unflinching anatomical waxworks, meticulously sculpted from real patients.

Lam Qua’s haunting portraits of 19th-century Chinese pre-op tumour patients (pictured).

Joseph Lister’s first antiseptic spray, used at Guy’s Hospital, which laid the foundation for modern hospital sterilisation practices.

Alan the mummy, a late taxi driver who volunteered to be the first person for 2,000 years to be preserved like the ancient Egyptians.

Foundations of a historic collection

The origins of the collection date back to Thomas Hodgkin, who in 1826 became the first Medical Curator of the newly opened Medical School at Guy’s Hospital. His meticulous work brought together the first 3,000 specimens by 1829, forming the foundation of the museum.

As the school grew, further facilities were built, but it was the generosity of Robert Gordon that enabled the creation of the dedicated Gordon Museum in 1905. Its striking Victorian cast-iron and glass design housed not just pathological material but also important historical objects, such as the first stethoscope ever used in Britain.

Today, the Gordon Museum is one of the few places left in the country that continues to accept new specimens, which are used to document recent and emerging diseases.

The crest of Guy's Hospital on the railings inside the Gordon Museum

The crest of Guy's Hospital on the railings inside the Gordon Museum

Thomas Hodgkin

Foundations of a historic collection

The origins of the collection date back to Thomas Hodgkin, who in 1826 became the first Medical Curator of the newly opened Medical School at Guy’s Hospital. His meticulous work brought together the first 3,000 specimens by 1829, forming the foundation of the museum.

As the school grew, further facilities were built, but it was the generosity of Robert Gordon that enabled the creation of the dedicated Gordon Museum in 1905. Its striking Victorian cast-iron and glass design housed not just pathological material but also important historical objects, such as the first stethoscope ever used in Britain.

Today, the Gordon Museum is one of the few places left in the country that continues to accept new specimens, which are used to document recent and emerging diseases.

Past diseases, present insights, future breakthroughs

The museum has a unique advantage in its ability to connect past knowledge with modern medicine. Visitors can see the original specimens of the kidneys, adrenal glands and lymph nodes that led Guy’s physicians Richard Bright, Thomas Addison and Thomas Hodgkin to describe the conditions that still bear their names. Alongside these are modern specimens showing diseases such as HIV/AIDS.

In some cases, pathologies that had once seemed consigned to history, like tuberculosis and syphilis, can re-emerge. Having preserved specimens from earlier centuries provides researchers with a vital point of comparison, enabling them to study how diseases evolve and reappear in new forms.

Each specimen represents a unique story, interpreted differently across generations, and the significance of objects from a century ago continues to evolve as new discoveries emerge. Today, they can be analysed with advanced technologies such as 3D MRI scans and DNA extraction, offering insights that were once unimaginable to the original physician and opening the door to new breakthroughs. A century from now, those same specimens may reveal the answers to questions we cannot yet envisage.

A glasses-free 3D imaging screen.

Museum Curator Bill Edwards

Museum Curator Bill Edwards

Preserving knowledge, inspiring discovery

Thinking you might pop in on a London day out? You’re out of luck, unfortunately. Out of respect for the donors and in compliance with the Human Tissue Act (HTA), the museum is only open to the medical public. This means medical, para-medical, dental and scientific visitors are very welcome, but not, unfortunately, the general public.

‘Everything in here came from a person, with a life story,’ explains Bill. ‘And roughly half of all specimens are from living people, which means whatever disease they had was able to be cured. The other half, from people who have passed away, will have contributed to keeping more people alive. We are about success, not failure. But if we fail, that failure becomes a lesson that guides the next generation.’

And, at the Gordon Museum, great importance is placed on guiding and inspiring that next generation. Recognising that learning is constantly evolving, the curator continues to expand the museum's collection to reflect new knowledge and discoveries. Investment is made in new technology, and its outreach programmes encourage more young people to develop an interest in medicine.

Through preserving and expanding one of the world’s foremost collections of pathological specimens, the Gordon Museum of Pathology provides an essential resource for medical education and research. In safeguarding the knowledge of the past, it creates a foundation on which today’s healthcare advances are built and tomorrow’s innovations will continue to grow.

Museum Curator Bill Edwards

Preserving knowledge, inspiring discovery

Thinking you might pop in on a London day out? You’re out of luck, unfortunately. Out of respect for the donors and in compliance with the Human Tissue Act (HTA), the museum is only open to the medical public. This means medical, para-medical, dental and scientific visitors are very welcome, but not, unfortunately, the general public.

‘Everything in here came from a person, with a life story,’ explains Bill. ‘And roughly half of all specimens are from living people, which means whatever disease they had was able to be cured. The other half, from people who have passed away, will have contributed to keeping more people alive. We are about success, not failure. But if we fail, that failure becomes a lesson that guides the next generation.’

And, at the Gordon Museum, great importance is placed on guiding and inspiring that next generation. Recognising that learning is constantly evolving, the curator continues to expand the museum's collection to reflect new knowledge and discoveries. Investment is made in new technology, and its outreach programmes encourage more young people to develop an interest in medicine.

Through preserving and expanding one of the world’s foremost collections of pathological specimens, the Gordon Museum of Pathology provides an essential resource for medical education and research. In safeguarding the knowledge of the past, it creates a foundation on which today’s healthcare advances are built and tomorrow’s innovations will continue to grow.

The Gordon Museum is supported by philanthropic funding. This support ensures that the museum can continue to support learning and discovery for medical students and professionals from around the country. If you’re interested in supporting the museum, get in touch with us at giving@kcl.ac.uk.

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EDITORIAL TEAM

Teresa Richards
Ellie Stone

WRITERS

Kelly Archer
Paul Brooks
Hermione Cameron
Kate Denereaz
Kate Hazlehurst
Joely Langston

DESIGN

Principal design by Jonathan Vickers
Additional design by Harpoon Productions and Carly Yung
Photography by Nathan Clarke and David Tett

WITH SPECIAL THANKS TO

JH Norris

ALUMNI & EDITORIAL OFFICE

King’s College London
57 Waterloo Road,
London,
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InTouch is published by the University’s Philanthropy & Alumni Engagement Office. The opinions expressed in it are those of the writers and not necessarily those of the University.

If you have a story for our Spring 2026 issue, email us at forever@kcl.ac.uk

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