Mütter Museum, Philadelphia

From the sliced human head floating in a glass case, à la Damien Hirst, to the gruesome collection of preserved presidential tumors and a plaster cast of Siamese twins Chang and Eng (as well as their actual conjoined livers), Philadelphia's Mütter museum is a must-see, especially for those who found the movie Dead Ringers oddly compelling. Part of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, the oldest medical school complex in North America, it combines exhibits of pathological objects, surgical tools, and anatomical curiosities. Other wonders on display include the tallest skeleton in North America and a collection of 2,000 objects removed from people's throats, each with its own case history. There is an almost gleeful disconnection between the museum's mission—"to advance the cause of health, and uphold the ideals and heritage of medicine"—and the often shocking displays. High on the ugh-list are the painted papier-mâché models of the effects of gangrene and the wax faces with various eye injuries; the air outside is bound to seem fresh afterward, no matter what the weather.

Mütter Museum
Tel: 215 563 3737