[Translated by eTranslation]

Moulagen are realistic replicas of injuries, skin diseases or other medical findings – mostly made of materials such as wax, silicone or plastic. Wax casts from clinical pictures were mainly used in medical education at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries to show students real clinical pictures without the need for patients.
 
In 1892, Carl Henning (1866-1943) started producing moulages for medical instruction on behalf of the Medical Faculty of the University of Vienna. With his deceptively real depictions of medical conditions, Henning was considered one of the technically best waxmakers of his time. He contributed significantly to the fact that Moulagen were not only regarded as an educational tool, but also as artisanal masterpieces. Due to the great success and the extensive use of his moulages, a separate institute for production and reproduction was founded at the university. Initially still 100 pieces per year, the number of new productions and copies soon increased.
 
After the sudden death of Carl Henning, his son Theodor (1897-1946) took over the production. The institute was privatized and expanded with several facets. Thus, facial prostheses and death masks were now also produced. The formulation and production method also changed over the years, so the wax mixture was regularly improved in addition to its own impression compound. Moulagen were manufactured until 1937, after which Theodor Henning shifted the focus to the production of prostheses, especially for war victims. Based on material analyses and historical sources, the history of the development of the moulages is illustrated and the history of the k.k. moulage institute is told from a university institution for the production of teaching materials to a private company with different offers.
 
Building on the special exhibition on Moulagen in 2024, larger parts of the collection of more than 3,000 listed specimens of the pathological-anatomical collection of the NHM Vienna can now be permanently presented in a separate theme room. The moulages not only have a medical-historical value, but also present real diseases – if they cannot be treated for various reasons.
  
Please register at irina.kubadinow@nhm.at.
 
General request for information:
Mag. Irina Kubadinov
Head of Press & Public Relations, Press Spokesperson, NHM Vienna
 https://www.nhm.at/irina _kubadinow 
Tel.: +43 (1) 521 77-410 I irina.kubadinow@nhm.at