A slice of genius: Thinly cut segments of Einstein's brain go on display in Britain for first time


Mathematician's brain divided into sections after he died

Exhibition also features brain of a murderer, a sufraggette and early computer scientist


By Phil Vinter
Published: 17:37 BST, 27 March 2012 | Updated: 17:45 BST, 27 March 2012

















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[/img] Genius: Following his death in 1955, at the age of 76, Einstein's brain was divided into sections and preserved in formaldehyde.

Two of these thinly preserved slices are going on show at the Wellcome Collection in London




The two slides from Einstein's brain are on loan from the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia, where they were only shown publicly in the US for the first time last year.

The eminent scientist was cremated and his ashes were scattered according to his wishes.




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But pathologist Thomas Harvey, who carried out the post-mortem examination, said that Einstein's son gave him permission to preserve the brain for research, a claim which was later disputed.

Harvey kept the brain, which to many people's surprise was not particularly large, and divided it into 240 sections preserved in jars of formaldehyde at his house.


Tools of the trade: A dissection kit is another of the items to be going on display at the exhibition






Tangle of tubes: One of the exhibits on display shows the mass of blood vessels contained within the brain. The effect is produced when the exterior tissue is removed through a process called corrosion casting








Interesting instrument: A cranial trephine used for 19th century brain surgery, with a cylindrical blade and sawed edges


Guest Curator Marius Kwint said: 'Brains shows how a single, fragile organ has become the object of modern society's most profound hopes, fears and beliefs, and some of its most extreme practices and advanced technologies.

'The different ways in which we have treated and represented real, physical brains open up a lot of questions about our collective minds.'

Ken Arnold, Wellcome Collection's Head of Public Programmes, said: 'We all recognise its outline and know that it is the most important part of us but for many, the brain remains as mysterious as it is beguiling.'

Brains: The Mind As Matter opens on Thursday and runs until June 17 at the Wellcome Collection in London.







Left, Slices of Albert Einstein's brain are being displayed next to the model of the famous 'on board computer'; right, a human skull with evidence of brain surgery







[img][/img] Getting inside my head: A woman looks at a work by artist, Katharine Dawson, called 'The Soul' which is a a laser-etched 3D representaion of her own brain