Opening Winter 2023

The International Museum of Surgical Science is pleased to announce the development of a new exhibit on cardiovascular surgery and health!

Conquering Heart Disease is a survey, from an ancient practice to today, of the human heart in medicine. Included in the exhibition are the ancient practices—Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ancient Greek anatomy, and Latin American blood ritual — that formed the foundation for the early modern study of the heart and its functions. It details later breakthroughs, such as William Harvey’s description of the circulation of blood and the pumping of the heart in 1628, Rene Laennec’s 1816 invention of the stethoscope, and Willem Einthoven’s 1901 invention of the first practical EKG machine. The exhibit highlights related advancements, such as Alexis Carrel and Charles Lindbergh’s invention of the perfusion pump in 1934 and the development of pacemakers and stents in the 1960s and 1980s. The Museum’s wide range of visitors, from students and educators to practitioners and enthusiasts, will follow along with the history of our medical understanding of the human heart through artifacts and visually rich text panels. Visitors will leave with a better understanding of the progression in the understanding of the cardiovascular system from ancient history to today’s technological discoveries.

Donate to this exhibit

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death globally, and affect tens of millions of people every year. If this medical cause is important to you, we invite you to contribute to this educational exhibition in the name or memory of loved ones and friends.

About the Committee: The IMSS has formed a special committee of scientific advisers to contribute to this exhibition. Committee members:

Annabelle S. Volgman MD FACC FAHA, Rush University Medical Center

Marshall Goldin, MD, Rush University Medical Center Emeritus

Peter A. Santucci, M.D., FACC, FHRS, FAHA, Loyola University Medical Center

Valluvan Jeevanandam, MD, UChicago Medicine

Peter Stecy, MD, Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center

Jerome L. Kolavo, MD, Northwestern Medicine