University health research and education to feature in museum exhibition

Exeter City Council’s The Royal Albert Memorial Museum and Art Gallery (RAMM) will host A Picture of Health: Exeter’s Medical History, which launches on Saturday (October 1).  The exhibition examines health and wellbeing in Exeter from the 18th century to present day - including body snatching surgeons, the pioneering use of inoculation and medical statistics.

Among the exhibits will be the Exeter Hip implant, created by Professor Clive Lee and Robin Ling, in a partnership between the University of Exeter and the then Royal Devon & Exeter NHS Foundation Trust. Just over 50 years on, the revolutionary hip has been fitted in more than two million people worldwide,

The exhibition will also feature teaching tools used in Exeter’s innovative medical education programme. The event will tell the story of the city’s role in notorious Victorian grave robbery, in part to supply medical schools at the time. Now, Exeter uses modern teaching techniques including detailed anatomical models, computer simulations and dissection to teach anatomy to a high standard,  without using human cadavers.

Professor Janice Kay, Provost at the University of Exeter, said: “I’m delighted to see our cutting-edge research and education featured as part of this important exhibition. The Exeter Hip is an incredible global success story, and our clinical education is producing the next generation of health leaders to make a real difference. We’re very proud to have an impact in a city with a rich culture and history of health activity.”

The Exeter Hip team, and teaching staff and students from the University of Exeter Medical School, will also take part in a series of events around the exhibition, including a RAMM Lates event on November 11.