Foreword

These pages embrace a collection of images that were derived from archival, glass-mounted serial histological sections of anonymous human embryos and foetuses.

The archival material was prepared during the first half of the 1900s, prior to the era of standardized informed consent, when its collection relied largely on the unwitting contribution of hundreds of pregnant women.

For the acquisition of such material, anatomists were indebted to the goodwill of doctors within a relatively small network of state hospitals.

In the past, it was used as an educational tool in courses on human development and for research purposes in the field of embryology [1, 2].

The archival collections are stored in locked rooms with strictly controlled and restricted access. The material was released on the understanding that it would be treated respectfully and put to a use that was likely to yield beneficial and scientifically valid information [1, 2].

Its discontinuation or negligent handling would represent an irretrievable loss of a source of potential knowledge [3].

1. Fourniquet, S.E., K.J. Beiter, and J.C. Mussell, Ethical Rationales and Guidelines for the Continued Use of Archival Collections of Embryonic and Fetal Specimens. Anat Sci Educ, 2019. 12(4): p. 407-416.
2. El-Haddad, J., G. Strkalj, and N. Pather, A global perspective on embryological and fetal collections: Where to from here? Anat Rec (Hoboken), 2022. 305(4): p. 869-885.
3. Gerrelli, D., et al., Enabling research with human embryonic and fetal tissue resources. Development, 2015. 142(18): p. 3073-6.