Hello! Did you know that here at the library, we have a whole lot of skulls?

Not…not in our heads. I mean anatomical models. In fact, Hirsh Library has over 50(!) skulls you can check out, so you can study them and do awesomely in your classes. What kinds of skulls, you ask? Well, let’s take a look!

Real Skulls

Let’s start right at the top: we have real human skulls, and we have them in a few different ways. First up are the full skulls, which come apart into two or three pieces, depending on how the springs on the jaws are. The downside is that these skulls are on the older side, so there are elements that have sustained a little damage over the years. But all the same, we have them!

We also have half skulls. They are cut vertically, and can come with or without a brain, as seen below.

They’re all available for checking out, and follow the same four hour rules as all Reserve materials. We just ask you to be gentle with them. (But feel free to casually mention that you can check actual human skulls out from your school library to any members of your family who have never gone through health sciences graduate programs. The reactions you’ll get will enhance every visit home, guaranteed.)

Plastic Skulls

But, what if you don’t want real bone, or what if they’re checked out? We still have you covered with all of our plastic skulls! The most popular of these are probably the labeled plastic skulls, and we even have one that has muscle connections painted on, so you can get a better sense of how it all lines up. See for yourself:

The bonus of the painted skull is that it also looks festive, ready for holidays to freak out the more squeamish of your non-health sciences friends back home! All labeled skulls come with guides as to what those labels actually mean, so these are the go-to skulls of all students freshly dealing with head and neck anatomy. Welcome to the club.

What if you really want to take a skull apart? We’ve got you covered. Meet our unlabeled, plastic, bilaterally cut skull. It’s missing a tooth, so feel free to give it a semi-ironic nickname, like “Bitey” or “Smiles.”

Finally, the newest editions to our skull collection! We recently received about 40 skulls from the anatomy lab. They are plastic, unlabeled, come in special cardboard boxes that can fold out into display cases, and are in fantastic shape.

So there you go! We have 50+ skulls, mixed up over 7 different styles, and that’s not even touching all our other models – teeth, a brain that comes apart, a spinal cord, pelvises – even two full skeletons, the famous Leo and Theo! So swing on by the Library Service Desk on the 4th floor, and check out a new silent study buddy.

Just remember: you can pick your skulls, you can pick your nose, but you can’t pick your skull’s nose.

Oh. I, uh…guess you can. Looks like there’s always something new to discover with a Hirsh Library Skull!