Corrosion Cast

Warren Anatomical Museum collection, Center for the History of Medicine in the Francis A. Countway Library, Harvard University

Corrosion cast of bronchi and trachea, possibly from a rabbit, sheep or dog, made by Samuel Jason Mixter, circa 1880–1890

A corrosion cast is a solid, negative replica created from a hollow anatomical structure separated from its surrounding tissues.This corrosion cast of lungs (using bismuth, lead, tin, and cadmium) was made at Harvard Medical School by instructor Samuel J. Mixter who created a series of demonstration casts for the Department of Anatomy in the late 19th century.