Wax model (moulage) of a complete tear of the perineum; the model is made of oil-painted beeswax with talc, built up on a plywood board with gauze around the edges; the model shows a vulva and perineum which has completely ruptured during childbirth; complete perineal rupture and dehiscence of the …
Wax model (moulage) of a complete tear of the perineum; the model is made of oil-painted beeswax with talc, built up on a plywood board with gauze around the edges; the model shows a vulva and perineum which has completely ruptured during childbirth; complete perineal rupture and dehiscence of the anal sphincter has produced a "third-degree tear"; the model is accompanied by a descriptive label which lists typed information on paper about the condition seen in the wax model; the information is framed by a cardboard mat; the model is painted to depict true colour
Number Of Parts
2
Part Names
a - model
b - label
Provenance
Models made by Marjorie Winslow; they were commissioned as teaching aids by Dr. Robertson of the Queen’s University Faculty of Medicine, who also helped with the anatomical details.
Printed on label: "Complete Tear // A precipitate labour or negligence on the part of an atten- // dant in an abnormal or even in a normal labour may lead to com- // plete rupture of the perineum and dehiscence of the anal sphinc- // ter -- a "third-degree tear". Such a tear should be immediately // repaired by careful suturing after the delivery of the baby and // the placenta. Occasionally, the wound will break down and the // result is seen in this patient. Close inspection of the anal // region of the patient during labour will show quite clearly the // ring of the sphincter ani. When this ring is torn the two torn, // free ends retract. The sphincter is attached to overlying // fascia and, indirectly, to the skin. In retracting, two dimples // are seen, indicating the ends of the ruptured sphincter. // Treatment is surgical."
Permanent Location
Storage Room 0010
0010-F6-3
Length
20.7 cm
Width
17.6 cm
Depth
5.9 cm
Unit Of Measure
centimeters
Dimension Notes
Above dimensions are for model (part a); Label (part b) dimensions are 17.2 cm x 15.0 cm
Condition Remarks
April 2023 - no change from previous condition
(undated condition report) - The model shows no chips, cracks or breaks in the wax; the surface has a small scratch at the lower right side; the paper and cardboard are brittle and acidic; there are no missing sections or tears; the typing is fully legible
Copy Type
Original
Reference Types
Article
Museum website
Reference Comments
Andrea Terry, “The Malleability of Meaning: Marjorie Winslow’s Moulages and Twentieth-Century Moulage Production in Canada,” The Museum of Health Care at Kingston, 2007. https://issuu.com/museumofhealthcare/docs/terry__2007_
Brockville Museum Collection, “Doll – 984.100.01,” accessed June 7th, 2022. http://brockville.minisisinc.com/scripts/mwimain.dll/144/COLLECTIONS/WEB_DETAIL_REP/SISN%20536?sessionsearch
Research Facts
Marjorie Winslow was by no means only a wax sculptor, but created art, medical and otherwise, in many different mediums. She was born in Montreal in 1907, and studied there at the Museum of Fine Arts and L’École des Beaux Arts. She lived in Kingston with her husband from 1939 to 1946, and helped with art classes at Queen’s University. She learned moulage from an artist brought from Johns Hopkins by Dr. Robertson, and would attend operations at Kingston General Hospital, reproducing what she had seen there from memory and working with Dr. Robertson to get the proportions and colours just right. She later moved back to Montreal and worked as an artist with famous neurosurgeon Dr. Wilder Penfield, helping map the human brain as he explored it. Later in life, Winslow lived in Brockville, Ontario, and upon her death in 1998, the Friends of the Brockville Museum mounted an art show to celebrate her life and work, featuring pieces of art borrowed from several people in the town who owned some of her work. In addition to her moulages at the Museum of Health Care, some of her Christmas cards are housed in the collections of the Agnes Etherington Art Centre.