Judith Cook

Woman of the Day anatomist and anatomical wax modeller Anna Morandi Manzolini born OTD 1714 in Bologna, appointed Professor of Anatomy at the University of Bologna in 1756, the first person ever to reproduce - in wax - minute parts of the body. It’s difficult to convey just how vital Anna’s highly accurate wax models of tissues and organs were to the study of anatomy. They were so detailed, they included capillary vessels and nerves. Her models gained international fame and were highly sought after by medical practitioners. They were a gamechanger. Until the middle of the 18th century in this country, the only two groups permitted to carry out dissections were the Royal College of Physicians and the Company of Barber Surgeons. Even they had an annual quota of only ten cadavers between them. The now-Royal College of Surgeons had to wait until 1800 to be granted a Royal Charter to receive the cadavers of executed criminals. That’s why Burke and Hare did a roaring trade in Scotland in 1828 and they didn’t wait for their victims to expire naturally. Anna was raised traditionally. Marriage, children and domestic chores were expected of her but by 25, she was already the mother of six and her husband had contracted tuberculosis. He was Professor of Anatomy at the University of Bologna but struggled with his poor health. Anna decided to help him with his work, a major turning point in her life. She had to dissect cadavers to learn anatomy - over a thousand over time - and gradually began to surpass her husband’s scientific knowledge and skills in sculpting wholly realistic wax models of body parts, to the point where her work was almost indistinguishable from the real thing. Anna also received special permission to lecture in her husband’s place. He recognised the value of her work and her support: "Elle m'a rendu a moi meme" (She restored me to myself). Anna discovered previously unknown anatomical parts and was so precise that she was the first to model capillary vessels and nerves. One of her wax molds showed the stages of the foetus and how it was nourished. Her collection of wax models was known throughout Europe as Supellex Manzoliniana. In 1755 after her husband’s death, Anna was appointed Lecturer in Anatomy in her own right by the Institute of Bologna and became Professor of Anatomy in 1756. She was elected as a member by the Italian Royal Society, the Russian Royal Scientific Association, and by the Royal Society here, which invited her to lecture in London. The University of Milan sent Anna a blank contract offering her whatever she wanted if she would only take up the position of Chair of Anatomy. She wouldn’t leave Bologna. Anna died in 1774, aged 60. Fifty-six of her and her husband’s works are still held at the University of Bologna.