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International Museum of Surgical Science

a division of the International College of Surgeons

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For medical, historical and museum related gifts, shop our Museum Store!

Interested in becoming a vendor? Contact Michelle Rinard at michelle@imss.org or call 312-642-6502 ext 3118.

Menu

About
Plan Your Visit
Exhibitions
Upcoming Programs
Education
Get Involved
Support
Host Your Event
Museum Store
- Museum Store
Join Our Mailing List
- Newsletter Archive

Hours & Info

1524 N. Lake Shore Drive
Chicago, IL 60610

1-312-642-6502

Monday - Friday 9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday - Sunday 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

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Recent Posts

History of Physician Gender Dynamics in Obstetrics and Gynecology July 16, 2019
Entomotherapy: The Medical Use of Insects June 21, 2019
The Fabrication of Anatomy May 30, 2019
Namir Fearce announced as Summer-Fall 2019 Artist-in-Residence May 3, 2019
The Uncanny Space Between Networks, Interfaces and Bodies April 30, 2019

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“Male physicians and surgeons dominated the medical field as long as they were the only ones to receive formal education and training. Margaret Ann Bulkey adopted the pseudonym ‘James Barry’ in order to practice medicine as a male physician." Dr. Barry remained male identifying his entire life, and gave explicit instructions that upon his death his body not be examined at all and no autopsy be performed. It's only because someone violated his wishes that we know he was not cis. Read more in our newest blog post “History of Physician Gender Dynamics in Obstetrics and Gynecology” by our Education Intern Anupama Suresh. . www.imss.org . . . #IMSSchicago #ReadingTime #reading #blog #education #gynecology #WomenInMedicine #WomenInSTEM #transhistory

Fall 2019 Education Internship applications are now open! Application deadline is Aug. 15th. . The Education Interns at the International Museum of Surgical Science will work closely with Museum staff to assist with education programming and digital outreach. Duties will include but are not limited to developing and facilitating education programs such as guided tours and drop-in interactive experiences and researching the Museum’s collections to write social media and blog posts. The Intern will be expected to publicly report on progress via the Museum blog. . To learn more and apply check out www.imss.org. . Share with any current students or recent graduates interested in learning more about museum education! . . . #IMSSchicago #chicago #museum #internship #education #museumeducation #applytoday

OPENING SOON--Plant Medicine: Multi-Species Wellness in a Global City. . Exhibition Opening Reception is August 8, 2019 at 5:30 PM and is free and open to the public. . How do migratory human and non-human beings learn to grow and flourish in a city of steel and glass? Through the lens of plants, this exhibition explores the connections between nature, health and growing roots. On the Northside, newly arrived refugees bring their practical knowledge, plants and aesthetic dispositions to gardens. It’s there that they create familiar smells, textures and ways of interacting as communities. They work through traumas of displacement, pass on traditional knowledge to children born in exile and sell their produce at the farmers market. On the near Westside, Latino gardeners plant prairie flowers on a remediated brown-site. They tend to Monarch butterfly chrysalis in order to maximize the chances of emergence and trans-migration to Mexico. On the Southside, a neighborhood ravaged by redlining, out-migration and school closures hopes to remake itself as the city’s food garden, and a growing network of gardeners and farmers hope to become economically viable producers. In ethnic pharmacies around the city, plant-based medicines connect Chicagoans to alternative ways of thinking about health and disease. All throughout the city, people otherwise dislodged or in flux—because of changing health, ability, neighborhood or family situation—turn to plants and planting to sow new roots. . Read more and RSVP at www.imss.org . . . #IMSSchicago #museum #chicago #exhibition #nature #health #exhibit

You’ve probably seen this pattern of lines at the hospital, on a TV show, or even as a tattoo. It is called an electrocardiogram or ECG and allows physicians to observe our heart’s electrical activity! . So how is a heart beat converted into lines? . Our hearts beat continuously to pump blood to the entire body. In order for it to beat, a wave of electrical impulse is generated by the heart which then travels through the different chambers. An ECG is a non-invasive, painless test that uses a set of electrodes placed on the chest to detect the heart’s activity. Invented in 1901 by Willem Einthoven, a Dutch physician, the first ECG device weighed 600 lbs! Since then, the ECG has been improved with new technology to what it is today. . Why is this test useful? . It is helpful for physicians to know if your heart has an abnormal rhythm, if it’s beating too fast or too slow, or if you’re having/have had a heart attack. Different waveforms are created based on each heart condition which physicians interpret to diagnose or treat a patient. . . . #IMSSchicago #chicago #museum #ecg #heart #heartbeat #histmed #medical #history

Looking at this painting, the bright colors might be the first thing to catch your attention. Greens, purples, blues, and reds adorn the wall decor, clothing, and furniture. There is also red blood being let from the main figure’s arm. . This painting depicts the court physician of Harun al-Rashid practicing venesection on a man reclining on a couch in a palatial room. Venesection, a surgical incision into a vein in an effort to drain blood, is a practice indigenous to the pre-Islamic Middle East and ancient Greece. In the Islamic world these practices were to a large extent conducted by barbers and others outside the sphere professional physicians. . Throughout the history of this region, bleeding was a common remedy and most people above the age of 14 were bled once a year. Bloodletting was performed for many reasons, the most common of which was often because the patient simply was not feeling well and felt they had too much blood in their veins. Before the barber, or whoever was performing the bleeding, would begin, they would take into account two things. The location of the vein and the phase of the moon. Each organ of the body was believed to be connected with one of the constellations of the zodiac. To let blood from an organ when the associated constellation was in the ascendant was considered dangerous. Only after an astrologer had determined the auspicious day and hour could bleeding take place. . Bleeding was a risky affair. The instruments used were often unhygienic and the operation often took place in the street so the wounds would frequently become infected. Sometimes bloodletting was the immediate cause of death, either through infection or because the person performing it had mistakenly opened an artery instead of a vein. . . . #IMSSchicago #chicago #museum #painting #art #bloodletting #blood #MiddleEast #islamic #history #histmed

It is not common today to see an X-ray outside of a medical office. However, in the 1950s, this X-ray was found in shoe stores across the United States. Shoe-fitting fluoroscopes, invented in the 1920s, used X-rays to allow customers to see the bones inside their feet, supposedly allowing customers to find the perfect shoe fit. The novelty of seeing their own bones for the first time made the machine popular with children. . It is not clear how effective shoe-fitting fluoroscopes were at finding the perfect fit. They were often used after customers had already picked out and tried on their shoes. Therefore, it was used to assure customers that they made the right choice. Shoe stores used science to not only validate customers’ choices but also to market their products. . The shoe-fitting fluoroscope became one of the most successful marketing tools in the U.S shoe industry. Each machine sold for about $2,000 and eventually more than 10,000 shoe-fitting fluoroscopes could be found in shoe stores across the country. . By the 1950s, reports of the harmful effects of radiation, especially in children, began to spread. Eventually, the shoe-fitting fluoroscope was banned and is now a fascinating memento of history. . #IMSSChicago #Chicago #Museum #xray #history #science #medicine #HistMed #MedicalHistory #Collection

International Museum of Surgical Science

International Museum of Surgical Science

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