About the Centre

The Interactive Centre for Human Disease contains material from the William Boyd Pathology Museum.

The Pathology Museum was started in 1894 by Dr. Gordon Bell, first professor of pathology at the University of Manitoba, and Dr. Sidney Pearce, pathologist at the Winnipeg General Hospital. In its early stages, the museum housed a relatively small number of specimens which were used in medical education to illustrate particular facets of disease. Upon the arrival of Dr. William Boyd, the pathology museum grew considerably from one room containing five-hundred specimens in 1925 to five rooms and over three-thousand specimens in 1956.

The Centre, its database and physical specimens, are intended as a resource for medical education. By blending mid-twentieth century clinical descriptions with contemporary digital technology, the Centre provides students and educators with an opportunity to research and analyze the approximately 400 unique cases.

While the Centre currently holds approximately 400 specimens and associated data, there are an additional 300 specimens that require reconstituting and cataloguing before they can be integrated into the collection.