Scots medics' healing hands go on show

A MAJOR exhibition covering the history of medicine in Scotland is to be unveiled at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.

The Healing Touch will feature hundreds of portraits and photographs covering the history of medicine in Scotland.

The exhibition is being held to coincide with the quincentenary of the Royal College of Surgeons.

It will feature historical images of the anatomist Robert Knox, who bought bodies from the infamous Burke and Hare to use in his classes.

A rare picture of Joseph Bell, Arthur Conan Doyle’s inspiration for Sherlock Holmes, is likely to be among the most popular images.

And it comes right up to the present day with images from the Roslin Institute, which cloned Dolly the sheep.

The exhibition is the Portrait Gallery’s key project during its 2005-6 Year of Medicine.

It will celebrate Scotland’s past and present contribution to medical and biomedical achievement.

Imogen Gibbon, senior curator at the gallery, said: "[The image of Bell] sums up the exhibition. It is about capturing the history of Scottish medicine, the innovators and the characters involved."

The Healing Touch opens at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery on Saturday, June 9, and runs until November 27.