Papier-Mâché Brain

Around 1820, while still a medical student, Louis Thomas Jérôme Auzoux (1797-1880) pioneered three-dimensional anatomical models for medical training. The earliest anatomical models had been made of wax and were not durable or very accurate. Auzoux developed a special papier-mâché mixture that produced a light yet sturdy object which could be “dissected” into pieces.

Though never a substitute for real bodies, Auzoux’s 3D and highly accurate models of body parts found commercial success among medical schools in France and beyond. The 19th-century Auzoux model shown here is a forerunner of the plastic models one finds in doctors’ offices today.