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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.

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

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

Jon Chambers announced as Winter-Spring 2019 Artist-in-Residence December 17, 2018
A Note from the Collections: The Lithotomy: A Sordid History November 26, 2018
A Note from the Collection: Medical Marketing, Trade Cards from the Victorian Era November 19, 2018
A Note from the Collection: The Chamberlen Family Secret October 10, 2018
Sever and Suture: On the History and Future of Anatomical Dissection – Part 3 September 5, 2018

Instagram

Happy #TriviaTuesday! . Take a look at this object and comment below with any guesses as to what it could be used for. . *HINT* This issue only affects one sex. . Check back tomorrow to see if you were correct! . . . #imsschicago #hint #trivia #mystery #histmed #instrument #medicalhistory #history #chicago #museum #collection #object #artifact #tuesdaythoughts

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day and to celebrate his legacy of fighting for civil rights we would like to honor the memory of African Americans who have made great strides for racial equality in the healthcare field. . In 1891, physicians, nurses, and community activists in Chicago responded to racial discrimination in most medical and nursing colleges in the United States by raising funds to open Provident Hospital and Training School. It wasn’t the first medical school built to support black medical students, but Provident was the first founded explicitly to combat discrimination and to be controlled by African American leadership. . Dr. Beatrix Hoffman wrote in an article for the U.S. National Library of Medicine that, “Segregation, discrimination, and poverty led to disproportionately high rates of sickness and mortality among the African American population. Civil rights groups, churches, and community organizations fought these conditions through educational initiatives such as National Negro Health Week (1914–51), infant health stations, and nutritional programs to help curb maternal and infant mortality.” . Other initiatives included the founding of the interracial Medical Committee for Civil Rights (MCCR) by physicians John Holloman Jr. and Walter Lear in 1963. This committee fought for the desegregation of the American Medical Association (AMA) which they did in 1968. . However, the end of official segregation did not end the differential treatment of African Americans in health care. So, today we remember those who worked towards healthcare equality and encourage those leading the fight today. . Image: Interns and nurses at Provident Hospital and Training School, Chicago, 1922 from the National Library of Medicine . . . #imsschicago #mlkday #martinlutherkingjr #black #activism #civilrights #healthcare #medicalhistory #chicago #museum #histmed

We have scarificators in our collection, but none as beautifully decorated as this one made by Domenico Moretti in 1813 from the Wellcome Collection. . By the 19th century, scarificators were an essential tool for bloodletting, the practice of removing blood from a patient to try and prevent or cure illness. Scarificators were first developed in the early 1700s as a more humane and efficient way to perform bloodletting because it was able to quickly create multiple parallel cuts in the skin with the press of a spring-loaded lever. . Scarificators were popular because bloodletting was used to treat almost every disease. One British medical text recommended bloodletting for acne, asthma, cancer, cholera, coma, convulsions, diabetes, epilepsy, gangrene, gout, herpes, indigestion, insanity, jaundice, leprosy, ophthalmia, plague, pneumonia, scurvy, smallpox, stroke, tetanus, tuberculosis, and roughly one hundred other diseases. Bloodletting was even used to treat most forms of hemorrhaging such as nosebleed, excessive menstruation, or hemorrhoidal bleeding. Before surgery or at the onset of childbirth, blood was removed to prevent inflammation. Before amputation, it was customary to remove a quantity of blood equal to the amount believed to circulate in the limb that was to be removed. . . . #imsschicago #sundayspotlight #chicago #museum #chicagomuseum #histmed #bloodletting #scarification #scarificator #medicalhistory #history #blood #surgicalprocedure

Only ONE MORE DAY to see David Allen: Mastectomy Tattoos and Post-Surgery Healing . Since 2010, @davidallen has been tattooing women who have undergone mastectomies. Typically recreating the nipple shape, mastectomy tattoos have been around for some time. David’s work, however, uses design principles to draw attention away from the scarring. This process has quickly become a new, viable option to help women take back control. For him and his clients, the tattoo station has become a place of listening, caring, and approaching an area of trauma for revitalization. . Come see the exhibit tomorrow January 20th before it closes! . . . #imsschicago #museum #chicago #contemporaryart #tattoo #tattooart #mastectomy #breastcancer #cancer #healing #art #exhibition

The Museum is closed today, Saturday January 19, 2019 due to inclement weather and roads. We apologize for any inconvenience.

FEBRUARY 1st--The IMSS Contemporary Arts Program presents “Scientific Sketches and Subsurface Scattering: Capturing the Beauty Within”! . The opening reception will be Friday, February 1, 2019, 6-8pm. This event is free and open to the public! It offers free admission to the Museum and the exhibit as well as complimentary refreshments. . RSVP at www.imss.org . . . #imsschicago #new #exhibition #opening #free #event #museum #contemporaryart #art #science #artandscience #digitalmedia #universityofillinois #illinois #student #studentwork #emerging

International Museum of Surgical Science

International Museum of Surgical Science

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