Pathology Museum

Our on-site Pathology Museum holds a collection of over 2,000 pathological preparations, including a number of original preparations donated by Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie in 1843.

This space is used for small group tutorials by students across all of our courses as an educational tool to help them understand more about human diseases. Active learning, where students get the opportunity to learn through experience and reflection, is a valuable learning method and one that we feel makes City St George's, School of Health & Medical Sciences (Tooting) a unique place to study.

History of the Pathology Museum

The Museum has played an integral part in teaching at the School of Health & Medical Sciences since 1843. It was originally housed on two levels in the newly designed Hyde Park Corner hospital, with a spiral staircase leading from the ground floor to the gallery level above.

One of the museum’s most famous curators during these early years was Henry Gray. The human tissue was usually obtained from cases encountered at St George’s Hospital at post-mortem or during surgery and they afford a unique look at the variety of complaints suffered by Londoners during the late 19th century.

More recently, the collections of South London Hospital, St James' Hospital Balham and the Atkinson Morley Hospital in Wimbledon, were moved to the St George's site when these nearby hospitals closed.

The present day collection contains just over 2000 pathology preparations and continues to be used to enrich the student learning experience. It is an important part of St George's heritage, with research into the collection giving us new insight into the patient experience over the last 200 years.

The Museum contains human tissues and organs and is regulated by the Human Tissue Authority (HTA). We are not currently open to the public, but hold a licence to use the collection for education and training relating to human health.