Anatomical Heart Model

thingiverse

This is a 3D scan of a papier-mache model showing the intricate details of a dissected heart, illustrating its complex anatomical structure in a unique way. The model now resides in the collection of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, having been crafted by the Shimadzu Corporation, which was founded in Japan back in 1875 to produce educational models and equipment. Students learning anatomy and physiology, including those training to become doctors or nurses, need to thoroughly understand the structure of body parts, how they function, and how they relate to other parts. Examining real cadavers is indeed useful for this purpose, and anatomy museums preserve actual body parts for study, but inanimate models are more convenient to work with. The earliest anatomical models were made from wax, however, they proved to be too fragile to handle effectively. Papier-mache, first used for this purpose by medical student Louis Auzoux in France, turned out to be more durable and suitable for mass production. Students can find out more about our collection on our website. Background This was one of ten Museum objects scanned in 3D as part of Hack the Collection, a public program held during the 2014 Sydney Design Festival, which paired ten contemporary Sydney designers with ten objects from the Museum's collection. Designers spent two intensive days in the Festival FabLab, creatively manipulating the 3D object files to design their own hacked interpretations for an excited public to see. At the conclusion of the weekend, the designers' remixed objects were 3D printed on MakerBots and displayed alongside their original counterpart. We view our collection as raw assets waiting for inspiration, encouraging you to download and remix our collection as you take it in new directions. We'd love to hear about the new forms and uses you find for our objects – feel free to drop us a line to show us your work!