Ripped-Out Finger and Tendon

This human finger belonged to a young girl who worked in a laundry. It was ripped off from her hand when it was caught in a drying machine. The finger dates from the first half of the 19^th century, before the enactment of the Children Education Act of 1870 which limited child labour and raised awareness on children’s well-being. The accident occurred during the Industrial Revolution, an era when children were commonly employed in the British workforce. The finger and its tendon are now sitting on the shelves of the UCL pathology collection at the Royal Free Campus of the UCL medical school, a symbol of the child’s sacrifice to the industrial world. The finger is used for medical research and servers as a relic to remember the exploitation of children during the Victorian Era.