Saturday, June 22, 2013

Alas, Poor Yorick ...


While keeping the wife company during her recent sojourn at Queen's Medical Center, I wandered around the Neuroscience display adjacent to the waiting area.

I spent my time in the wife's room, but since the display was just across the hall from the restroom, it's only natural that I would wander over to see what that skull was all about.

The display is about "trepanning," or the drilling of holes in one's skull to fix what's underneath (like the brain). Trepanning has been around since 40,000 B.C., and is a procedure still being used today. Those are drill heads on the left.

But soon after I read the description, I couldn't help wondering what the name was of the person whose skull was on display. I mean, it must be very satisfying to know your body parts are being used for educational purposes. I doubt the skull's owner would know that right now, but it would be nice to pay him/her some personal respect.

Alas, poor Someone, I didn't know him well ...

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