see compartment 3
Model of a mature human fetus with umbilical cord and placenta
The prenatal (fetal) conditions of the cardiovascular system differ significantly from those after birth in some structural (e.g. connection with the placenta) and functional aspects. With birth comes the loss of the placenta and the functions it previously performed (e.g. respiration, excretion, nutrition). The newborn's body reacts to this with, among other things, restructuring processes in the cardiovascular system. Disturbances in this reorganisation can have serious consequences. The model shown is used to study the anatomy of the fetal circulation.
1950s / Göttingen Anatomy Collection
Outpourings of the internal spaces of the heart and the large blood vessels
The construction of the fetal heart and its associated vascular trunks is similar to that of the adult. Nevertheless, there are some important differences. In the foetus, for example, both the left and the right main chamber pump their blood via their own arterial trunks (left: aorta; right: ductus arteriosus) into the large circulatory system. The present spout preparations are from real human hearts. They show the anatomical differences between the fetal and adult heart. For better orientation, the internal spaces are coloured differently (right = green, left = yellow).
1950s / Göttingen Anatomy Collection
Dismountable model of a human embryonic heart
Our heart begins its pumping action in the 4th week of development. Human embryos are about 2 mm long at this time and their 0.5 mm heart is a tubular hollow muscle. By the end of the 8th week of development, the heart tube is transformed into a 4-chambered hollow muscle similar to that of the adult. The model on display shows a heart in the 6th week of development (natural size approx. 2 mm). It was made from histological sections using Born's plate modelling method and is used to study the external and internal shape of the heart.
1950s / Göttingen Anatomy Collection
Blechschmidt Collection of Human Embryology
Research into early human gestalt development relies on collections of chance finds, for example miscarriages. Only very few collections of human embryos exist worldwide. The most important is the Carnegie Collection in Washington D.C., which was founded at the beginning of the 20th century by Franklin P. Mall (1862-1917), a student of the Leipzig anatomist Wilhelm His (1831-1904). The director of the Göttingen Anatomical Institute, Erich Blechschmidt (1904-1992), also saw himself in the tradition of His, who is considered the founder of human embryological research. From 1942 to 1969, Blechschmidt built up a collection of 430 histological section series of human embryos and foetuses, which is now world-famous.
