Published by Anupama Suresh As I walked by the sculptures in the Hall of Immortals or peered into a glass case filled with trephined skulls, I was mesmerized by the Museum. I learned about the discoveries that made surgery possible today, from the different forms of anesthesia used to the introduction of antiseptics. I had … Continue reading Tours, Trephinations, and Tumors: Summer as an Education Intern
Published by Anupama Suresh Painting depicting the first successful cesarean section in Latin America in 1844. By Enrique Grau. xx1995.814.3 International Museum of Surgical Science Collection When I first saw this painting, my eyes were drawn to the bloody abdominal incision. C-section, my brain immediately informed me. Next, my gaze shifted up the umbilical cord … Continue reading History of Physician Gender Dynamics in Obstetrics and Gynecology
Published by Annagh Devitt Bugs. Many permit some of them; caterpillars and butterflies are beautiful symbols of change, but maggots and moths have much more ominous presence. Lady bugs are mementos of good luck whereas dung beetles are mementos of well…dung. Little spiders here and there are your mosquito-fighting companions but a big one in … Continue reading Entomotherapy: The Medical Use of Insects
Published by Annagh Devitt Most visitors to the Museum recognize something “off” about this skeleton. This ‘something’ is hard to pin down; perhaps it is the unsettling face, or the way the shoulders stick out a little too far, or maybe it is the artistic rendering of the humerus that curves like the end of … Continue reading The Fabrication of Anatomy
Published by Jon Chambers Electricity is still fairly mysterious and magical. It runs our entire networked infrastructure and we seldom see it unless we are watching a thunderstorm or an electronic device experiences a catastrophic failure. We plug our devices, computers, phones and WiFi routers into a hole in the wall that supplies us with … Continue reading The Uncanny Space Between Networks, Interfaces and Bodies
Published by Annagh Devitt First do no harm. This maxim is tied to the medical profession, and is often falsely attributed to Hippocrates from his famous medical oath. However, despite its ubiquity, the phrase has no practical application for doctors today. The way this idiom has evolved over time, including its practicality in the surgical … Continue reading Patient Consent Over Time
Published by Shreya Wadhwa. Have you ever wondered how your blood is produced or the path it takes through your body? When you eat, your liver ingests food and creates blood. This blood flows from your liver to the right side of the heart. From here, some blood flows into your lungs, where it gives … Continue reading A Note from the Collection: Theory of Circulation, Intravenous Therapy and Blood Transfusions
