The building of the Anatomical Theater was one of the first structures built for the Moscow Higher Women's Courses (MHWC), which in the second half of the 19th century provided women with the only opportunity to receive higher education. However, it was not until the 1915-1916 academic year that the courses were granted the right to conduct graduation exams and issue diplomas for higher education.

The courses, led by Professor V.I. Gerye, began their work on November 1, 1872, and were initially located on Volkhnka in the 1st Men's Gymnasium. The MHWC's own buildings appeared only after the approval of the Charter in 1906, which introduced a faculty structure: historical-philological, physical-mathematical, and medical faculties. The Moscow City Duma allocated a plot of land, and on June 3, 1907, the foundation of the educational buildings on Malaya Tsaritsynskaya (now Malaya Pirogovskaya) Street began. In 1907-1908, the physical-chemical building (now the Moscow Academy of Fine Chemical Technology) and the Anatomical Theater (now the N.I. Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University and Forensic Medical Morgue No. 2) were constructed. The construction of the Anatomical Theater was overseen by the famous Moscow architect Sergey Ustinovich Solovyov. Public lectures on anatomy and forensic medicine with demonstration autopsies were held here.

Initially, the building had three floors and consisted of a main cylindrical volume with a small rectangular structure attached. In the center of the cylindrical part was a lecture hall, while other rooms included sectional halls, a morgue, a library, and offices for research and teaching.

In the following years, the Anatomical Theater was repeatedly reconstructed and expanded. During the Soviet era, an extension was added to the old building with a rotunda facing Kholzunov (formerly Trubetskoy) Lane, which is clearly visible from the courtyard. On the portico, one can see the year of completion of this construction, "MSMXXXXVI," authored by architect N.I. Tranquillitsky. In the 1990s, a morgue and a cheburek shop coexisted here, which became the subject of many jokes.

The need to expand the building was caused by the increase in the number of departments in the medical faculty, which required additional space for the educational process. However, the old inscription with the letters "i" and "ъ," "Анатомическiй театръ," can still be discerned on the facade of the building.

The Anatomical Theater is a recognized cultural heritage site.