Piece of trephined skull, showing injury, owned by Dr Edward Jenner, possibly 18th century

A label attached to this piece of a woman’s skull suggests she underwent trephination after a skull fracture. Trephination is a surgical procedure which involves cutting a hole in a person's skull. From museum records, it is believed that Dr Edward Jenner (1749-1823), developer of smallpox vaccination, carried out the surgery. At this time, pain relief would be from herbal remedies and potentially alcohol. Anaesthetic agents such as ether and chloroform were only in use from the 1840s onwards.

As with similar surgeries at the time, the daunting operation was probably done in her home, with a high risk of dying from infection, shock or blood loss. We know, however, that she lived for at least a year after. We do not know how Edward Jenner came to own this piece of skull after the woman's death.