Clay-Adams Brain

These activities are based on artifacts from Ingenium - Canada's Museums of Science and Innovation
Artifact no. 2002.0539.008

This model of a human brain belonged to Dr. Yankoff. He graduated from medical school in 1953. Then he worked as a physician in the Toronto neighbourhood of Leaside. 

Dr. Yankoff used the brain model to explain medical conditions to patients who didn’t speak English. It was part of a larger model of a female head and torso.

Visit Ingenium to learn more about this and other artifacts at the Canadian Science and Technology Museum.

 A Brief History of Anatomical Models

Medical students learn the structure of the human body by studying anatomy. And the best way to learn anatomy is by dissecting a cadaver. That means taking apart the body of a dead person. 

But cadavers have their downsides. They can only be dissected once. They decompose over time. They’re also very rare! Many people do not want their bodies used this way.

That’s why people started making models of the human body. Anatomical models can be used over and over again to teach students. Doctors can also keep them in their offices to help explain medical conditions to patients.

Some of the first anatomical models were made in Japan during the 13th and 14th centuries. These simple models were made out of wood.

Models made out of ivory became popular in Europe between the 14th and 18th centuries. They were widely used in Germany, France and Italy. Artists carved each model out of a single piece of ivory. The models had removable organs that fit together like puzzle pieces.

In 17th century Italy, people started to make teaching models out of wax. These wax models could be extremely realistic. Wax was better than ivory because it could be coloured to match the colours of an actual human body. It could also show fine details like blood vessels. 

But wax models also had a downside. If the temperature got too high, they would melt!

Papier-mâché Models 

Louis Thomas Jérôme Auzoux was a medical student in 19th-century Paris. He noticed that there weren’t enough cadavers for anatomy classes to use. So he started using papier-mâché to create anatomical models. These models became extremely popular! Within a few years, Auzoux made enough money to open his own factory.

Did you know?

Louis Thomas Jérome Auzouz (1797-1880) developed a secret papier-mâché recipe. He used it to make teaching models for medical schools.

Papier-mâché models had many advantages over wax models: 

• Unlike wax models, papier-mâché models did not melt. 
• Wax models were hand-made one at a time by skilled artists. This was time-consuming and very expensive. But papier-mâché models could be mass-produced. Only the painting had to be done by hand. This also made papier-mâché models much cheaper.
• Some people found wax models too realistic. They would scare patients when doctors used them to explain medical conditions! But the painting on papier-mâché models tended to be simpler and more stylized. This made them easier to look at. 

The body parts in papier-mâché models still fit together like puzzle pieces. Doctors and students could easily take them apart and put them back together again. The parts were also labelled. 

In North America, medical schools used papier-mâché models from the 1930s to the 1960s. After that, plastic anatomy models became popular.

The Clay-Adams Brain

The Clay-Adams brain comes from a life-size model of a female torso. The model was made in the early 1950s by the Clay-Adams Company. It had a wooden frame covered with papier-mâché. The model was durable enough to be handled and it could be cleaned with soap and water.

The model torso had more than 500 organs. Each organ was labelled with a number. This number corresponded to the name of the body part listed in a book. 

You can see some of these numbers in the picture of the brain model.

This section of the brain model is the upper front part of the right hemisphere. It shows parts of the frontal lobe and parietal lobe. It also shows parts of the cerebrum and the corpus callosum. 

Where would find the frontal lobe? At the front of the brain, of course! It takes care of a lot of important things, like these:

• Critical thinking 
• Planning
• Feelings of reward
• Motivation
• Self-identity
• Long-term memory storage

The parietal lobe is located near the back of the brain. It sits behind the frontal lobe and in front of the occipital lobe. The parietal lobe is responsible for sensing proprioception. In other words, it helps you understand the space around your body. It lets you sense things like pain and temperature. It also interprets language.

The corpus callosum is a bridge of nerve fibres that connects the brain’s two hemispheres. It lets the hemispheres communicate, so they can coordinate and synchronize activity.

The cerebrum is the large wrinkly part that covers both hemispheres of the brain. It’s responsible for complex functions and voluntary actions. 

These are just a few parts of the brain that Dr. Yankoff could show his patients using a Clay-Adams model!