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The cover images in volume 216 are drawn from the vast Odontological Collection of the Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons of England. The Odontological Collection was founded in 1859 by the pioneering dentists of the Odontological Society of Great Britain. The collection has since grown to over 11,000 specimens demonstrating developmental anatomy and various pathologies of the teeth and jaws. The Odontological Collection is still actively used as a research resource for a wide range of fields including dentistry, history, zoology and osteology.
The image featured on this issue is the skull of a piranha donated by former Odontological Museum Curator Sir J. Frank Colyer (RCSOM/A 474.41). Piranha teeth are typically triangular and interlock via small cusps. Despite their fearsome, sharp teeth, the threat posed to humans by piranhas has been exaggerated.
The Hunterian Museum is open to the public Tuesday-Saturday.