Frederik Ruysch (1638-1731): Historical perspective and contemporary analysis of his teratological legacy.

The Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera) in Saint Petersburg is the oldest museum in Russia. It keeps the remains of the anatomical collection of the world-famous 17th century Dutch anatomist Frederik Ruysch. This unique collection was bought and shipped in 1717 by Czar Peter the Great, and presently still comprises more than 900 specimens, a modest number of which concerns specimens with congenital anomalies.

'The anatomy lesson of Dr. Frederik Ruysch' of 1683, a milestone in knowledge about obstetrics.

'The anatomy lesson of Dr. Frederik Ruysch' (1683) belongs to the famous collection of group portraits of the Amsterdam Guild of Surgeons. In this painting, Ruysch is portrayed with a dissected corpse of a newborn, which was still attached to its placenta.