Surgeons' Hall Museums

Dark blue background with white text which reads: Can you guess this week's word from our History of Surgery gallery? There are two words. The first is made up of 9 letters and the second is made up of 7 letters. Clues: • An anagram of Gratepoin Hetreat • From a time when students and spectators could watch surgeons perform surgery.

For #WordOnWednesday this week we are looking for something you would find in our History of Surgery Museum.

Hi Paul! This is a Strabismus hook. Used in squint eye surgery for securing and isolating an extraocular muscle.

Hello! This is a Strabismus hook. Used in squint eye surgery for securing and isolating an extraocular muscle.

😂

Hi Lena! This is a Strabismus hook. Used in squint eye surgery for securing and isolating an extraocular muscle.

Hi Petra! This is a Strabismus hook. Used in squint eye surgery for securing and isolating an extraocular muscle.

Hi Juliet! This is a Strabismus hook. Used in squint eye surgery for securing and isolating an extraocular muscle.

This is a Strabismus hook. Used in squint eye surgery for securing and isolating an extraocular muscle.

#TriviaTuesday

Ivory handle with a metal hook attached

For #TriviaTuesday this week we have this object from the late 19th century. It is 12 cm in length.

Any ideas what it is?

A silk top hat with a black ribbon with a buckle round the brim.

Sir James Young Simpson (1811-1870) wore this silk top hat towards the end of his life. Once after a day of work, he said to his butler: ‘Hide my hat, it is ever such a tell-tale.’
Simpson regularly entertained guests at his house on Queen Street, Edinburgh and was popular with his patients too.

There is a female arm wearing a Victorian style sleeve in the top left hand corner and a hand in the bottom right hand corner wearing a surgical glove. Each hand is holding a white square with black text on it which reads "New Temporary Exhibition A Fair Field and No Favour: The History of Women in Surgery closes Sunday 8th March 2026". The background is dark blue.

Our current temporary exhibition 'A Fair Field and No Favour: The History of Women in Surgery' will close at 5pm on Sunday the 8th of March!

Not able to make it along to the exhibition before it closes? You can view it digitally on Bloomberg Connects: guides.bloombergconnects.org/en-US/guide/...

Hello! You're correct 😊

Hello! You're correct 😊

Hi Wanda! You're correct 😊

Hi Nicole! You're correct 😊

The answer this week is laudanum.

Dark blue background with white text. It reads Can you guess this week's word from our History of Surgery gallery? There is space for 8 letters. Clues An anagram of Maulandu Widely used in Victorian Britain as pain medication, including to ‘soothe’ children teething and help them to sleep.

It's time for the first #WordOnWednesday of the month!

This week we are looking for a word you would find in our History of Surgery gallery. Can you work out what the anagram is?

😂 That's an accurate description for a lot of our Trivia Tuesday objects.

Hi Kay. It looks worse than it is! This is a saliva ejector.

Hi Lola! This is a saliva ejector!

Hi Rhea! This is a saliva ejector!

Hi Juliet! This is a saliva ejector.

This is a saliva ejector used to remove fluids such as saliva and blood from a patient's mouth during procedures.

#TriviaTuesday

Straight glass body which then curves downwards, ending in a bulbous end with several holes.

It's time for the first #TriviaTuesday of February!

Up this week we have this object from the 19th century. It is 11.5 cm in length, and 7 cm in width at it's widest part.
Any ideas what it is?

A set of four dissection hooks. They all have ebony handles. Two of the hooks are more rounded and two are more flat.

This is a set of four dissecting hooks with ebony handles. They were used to hold flaps of skin in place that have been cut and pulled back during a dissection to reveal the underlying layers.

Podcasts like this are catnip for me

Beyond the Knife is back for 2026!
In a not-so-romantic pre-Valentine’s special, our Human Remains Conservator Cat Irving unpacks the fascinating history of syphilis.
You can listen wherever you get your podcasts.
shows.acast.com/beyond-the-k...

It was!

Hi Nicole! You're correct 😊

Hello! You're correct 😊