Bangkok, Thailand | Medical Museums
Housed in the oldest hospital – it’s where the King of Thailand goes when he is ill – and medical school in Thailand, est. 1886, the Siriraj Medical Museum abounds with medical curiosities. The Siriraj is actually comprised of six different museums: a museum of pathology, a forensics museum, a museum of the history of Thai medicine, a parasitology museum, an anatomical museum, and a prehistoric museum.
The Siriraj’s incredible holdings include: Bones, preserved organs, pathological fetuses, the mummified corpse of a notorious serial killer, a traditional Thai medicine shop, parasitic worms, a two-and-a-half-foot-wide scrotum removed from a man afflicted with elephantiasis, preserved sections of human skin bearing tattoos, poisonous snakes and tarantulas, rows of skulls, the standing wax-filled remains of a cannibal, a delicately dissected nervous system, and the skeleton of the museum’s founder.
A strong stomach is recommended.
The Siriraj Museum website has lovely panoramic images of each museum. A personal account of a visit by an Atlas Obscura Team Memeber can be found here
