Collections

The Complutense Veterinary Museum houses about 3000 items including:

• The historical collection of the Faculty, previously catalogued by the Complutense University (works of art, busts, set of bottles and jars, etc.).

• Heritage collections deposited by departments of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine.

• Medicine and surgery subcollections (horseshoes, cautery units and clinical, surgical, obstetrical and dental material).

• Department of Anatomy (models, sculptures, skeletons and other preparations).

• Animal production (horse measuring sticks and production measuring systems and identifiers).

• Department of Pharmacology: subcollections of kymographs, pumps and registrars.

• The remaining departments have ceded in trust other smaller collections.

Another two collections and other artefacts have been added to the Museum:

• Professor Sánchez de Lollano's collection, which includes the donations he had received from veterinary staff, clinicians, abattoir, etc.

• Professor Manuel Martínez's collection, which includes physics instruments and apparatus.

• Some items have been transferred from the Forensic Anthropology and Criminalist Museum of the Complutense University of Madrid: skeletons, bones and several mounted animals.

• The Anatomic Museum of Medicine of the Complutense University of Madrid: bones.

• The Complutense Veterinary Museum has a large diverse heritage. The collections have an important educational, scientific-technological, artistic or symbolic value. The items shown are made of a wide range of materials including wood, oils, plaster, glass, wax, papier mâché, mounted animals, leather, iron and several other metals, etc. The oldest items on display are from the 18^th century and the newest have recently been unlisted and added to the collection.

History

Since 1997, the subject of History of Veterinary Medicine has been taught in collaboration with the current Director, Dr Joaquín Sánchez de Lollano. He took over the teaching of the subject during the academic year 2003/2004 and has full-time permanent position at the Complutense University since 2005-2006 (it is the first job position in the history of the Spanish university that is dedicated to the subject).

Throughout his professional life, Dr Sánchez de Lollano has been building a personal collection of veterinary-related items, and since the year 2003 he has been receiving personal donations from other colleagues, from slaughterhouses, clinics, etc. He has also collected materials handed over to him after conferences and lectures given in other schools and veterinary associations. And all these donations are the starting point of the collection for this subject.

For a long while, parts of this veterinary heritage were scattered and even thought lost. In the year 2004, scientists started to recover these items and thus laid the foundations for the project to create a veterinary museum. Since 2006, the current Director has been responsible for the management of the historical collection of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine.

The museum organizes national exhibitions in collaboration with other institutions, veterinary museums or European science history museums. As our collections ares unique, several museums have already shown their interest in organising exhibitions.

With regard to research, the Museum could be the origin of a new line of investigation in veterinary heritage. It could also be the starting point for developing specific preservation and restoration techniques and becoming a reference centre for veterinary scientific heritage in the future. This centre would involve companies and institutions that provide advice service or even restore pieces from other museums. 

• Anatomy
• Vertebrate Animals
• Anthropology
• American Archaeology
• Astronomy & Geodesy
• History of Education
• Entomology
• Hispanic Pharmacy
• Geology
• Computer
• Dentistry
• Optical Museum
• Children's Art
• Textile
• Veterinary Museum