Entry No. 16 — the Boston file — filed under: mummy

The Ether Dome

This 1821 domed surgical amphitheater — where the world's first public demonstration of ether anesthesia happened in 1846 — still keeps its original crowd of witnesses: an Egyptian mummy named Padihershef, gifted to the hospital in 1823, laid out today in a climate-controlled case a few feet from the operating table.

The move: Tour the free Russell Museum next door, then call ahead to see if the working Ether Dome itself (still used for hospital meetings) is open, and stand where surgeons operated on fully conscious patients before 1846.

• 📍 West End, Boston (Massachusetts General Hospital)
• 💸 $$
• ⚡ Up for anything
• 🌗 Indoors

Where: Bulfinch Building, Massachusetts General Hospital; visits arranged via the Paul S. Russell, MD Museum, 2 North Grove St, Boston, MA 02114

Hours: Added 2026-07-20 — confirm current hours before you go.

Plan a visit & invite your people →

Further reading: massgeneral.org · Wikipedia · harvardmagazine.com · russellmuseum.org

last checked: 2026-07-20