University Dermato-venereological Moulage Collections in Hungary

Abstract

In addition to textbooks, university lecturers made use of various demonstration
collections when training to teach skin and venereal diseases at university level. Alongside
two-dimensional illustrations and section collections, three-dimensional wax moulages
were employed for demonstration purposes. Unlike general anatomical moulages,
dermato-venereological moulages were made from real patients, capturing the current
state of the disease and its visible symptoms. The creation of these moulages required
anatomical knowledge, good technical skills and some artistic ability. In Hungary,
dermato-venereological moulage collections were established at university clinics in
Kolozsvár, Szeged, Budapest, Pécs and Debrecen. However, of these collections, only
those in Pécs and Debrecen still have preserved wax models, and even then, they are no
longer used for teaching purposes.
Although moulage collections no longer play a role in modern medical education,
they continue to have outstanding historical and scientific value. Moulages are tangible
evidence of the course and clinical picture of diseases that are now rare or have almost
completely disappeared. They can thus be interpreted as imprints of medical and scientific
history, as they have preserved the medical knowledge and classification system of a given
era, and therefore open up a different kind of interpretation for research.