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International Museum of Surgical Science

a division of the International College of Surgeons

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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

A Note from the Library: On Obstetrics and Gender in Tokugawa-Period Japan November 27, 2019
A Note from the Library: De Medicina—A Complete Medical Text for its Time November 20, 2019
The World of Museums According to A Teen Curatorial Assistant November 13, 2019
An Insight into the Life of a Teen Curatorial Assistant November 13, 2019
Plastic Surgery, Of Past and Present (Part 2) October 23, 2019

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Did you know that not long ago mummies were an ingredient in some European medicines? In the 1500s and 1600s, noble people, royalty and priests used “corpse medicine” to treat anything from headaches to epilepsy. There were even reports of Egyptian mummies being stolen just to be used for the creation of these “medications”. . The phenomenon was not limited to Europe. Belief in cannibalism as medicine eventually followed settlers to New England. One doctor in Massachusetts detailed how large the craze had become, cataloging the “types” of mummies medical practitioners preferred to use. For instance, some believed the most effective mummies came from certain parts of Africa, had lived for exactly 24 years or had died violently. Because there were such specific preferences around the mummies used, it was recorded that graverobbers would often attempt to sell mummies which were viewed as “sub-par”. So many people knew about this practice, that there were common tips on how to avoid purchasing bad corpse medicine! . This shocking practice saw a severe decline around the 18th century as people began to practice cleaner eating habits. Corpse medicine has been largely unheard of since then. However, the writing around the phenomenon, shows us just how widespread it became! . . . #IMSSChicago #Morbid #HistMed #MorbidMedicine #Skull #Creepy #Medicine #MedicalHistory #History #Mummies #MorbidCuriosity #Medication #Museum #Fridaythe13th

Our annual Sip & Shop Holiday Sale is Saturday, December 14, 12-5PM! . Enjoy complimentary refreshments during our local artist and vendor holiday gift fair. Find the perfect gift for the medical, art, and history lover. The Museum gift shop will feature a holiday sale of 30% off, one day only. . This event is free with Museum admission. For a limited time get $5 off tickets on our website. . There are some really cool artists and vendors who will be there. Today we’re featuring stores who will be selling skin care and cosmetics including Ari-Niyla's Beauty Bar, Seven Leaves CBD, and Shop Simona's Beauty! . RSVP today at www.imss.org . . . #IMSSChicago #Museum #Chicago #Holiday #Sale #Gift #Shopping #Makeup #SkinCare #CBD

Our annual Sip & Shop Holiday Sale is Saturday, December 14, 12-5PM! . Enjoy complimentary refreshments during our local artist and vendor holiday gift fair. Find the perfect gift for the medical, art, and history lover. The Museum gift shop will feature a holiday sale of 30% off, one day only! . This event is free with Museum admission. For a limited time get $5 off tickets on our website. . There are some really cool artists and vendors who will be there. Today we’re featuring stores who will be selling jewellery including @batwingboutique, @odditiesofnaturejewelry, and @jazzeejewelsandmore and more! . RSVP today at www.imss.org . . . #IMSSChicago #Museum #Sale #Sip #Shop #Vendor #Artist #Jewelry #Skull #Bones #Gift

Please join us December 17, 2019 for a special, holiday-themed after-hours tour of the International Museum of Surgical Science's historic landmarked mansion on Lakeshore Drive. . The International Museum of Surgical Science invites you on its beloved candlelit tour of the historic Countiss Residence. Bathed in warm candlelight, this unique exploration of 1524 will delve into the architecture of the space and the lives of its original occupants, who from the first World War through the Spring of 1931 worked, danced, dreamt and died there. Highlights from the IMSS permanent collection will invite guests to layer their experience of the space as an historic dwelling and modern-day Museum - as much enchanted by its elegant past as it is haunted by the morbid curiosities it houses today. . A complimentary reception follows the tour and lite fare will be served. . Doors open at 6:00pm and the first tour will begin promptly at 6:30pm. The second tour will leave at 6:50pm and the Museum is open until 8:30pm . Get your tickets today at www.imss.org! . #FanPhoto by @claircasey . #IMSSChicago #Chicago #Museum #Tour #Mansion #LakeSide #History #Architecture #GoldCoast #Candles #Holiday

Our annual Sip & Shop Holiday Sale is Saturday, December 14, 12-5PM! . Enjoy complimentary refreshments during our local artist and vendor holiday gift fair. Find the perfect gift for the medical, art, and history lover. The Museum gift shop will feature a holiday sale of 30% off, one day only! . This event is free with Museum admission. For a limited time get $5 off tickets on our website. . There are some really cool artists and vendors who will be there including Uncouth Curations! . Uncouth Curations is a Chicago embroidery artist who curates macabre and unusual illustrations from historical sources, re-creating them in thread in order to tell their story to a modern audience. They offer unique home décor that stimulates the imagination and helps people connect with history, and with a communal experience of what it means to be human, or female, or uniquely themselves. As such, they specialize in memento mori, mythological creatures, scientific and medical illustrations, and female strength. . RSVP today at www.imss.org . . . #IMSSChicago #Sale #Holiday #Gift #Gifts #Shopping #Sip #Shop #Embroidery #Histmed #Sale

Imagine: it’s the 15th century, and an auditorium in Italy is filled with hundreds of people. The crowd is made up of students, honored guests, and the general public. They’re not there to see the latest theatre production; instead they came to witness the dissection of a human body. . Around this time, the Church had just given its approval for human dissection, and in Italy an anatomist named Andreas Vesalius took this opportunity to uncover new knowledge about the human body. Prior to this, dissections were solely performed on animals, generating misinformation of human anatomy. . Vesalius didn’t keep his research to himself, though. At the University of Padua in Italy, students would gather in an anatomical theater to observe his process. While this was primarily to educate anatomy students, it was also a spectacle for the public to witness. Curious guests could be found in the stands furthest from the dissection table, while students would be the closest. . The bodies chosen for dissection came from convicted felons, often murderers, who had been sentenced to death. These public dissections would occur not long after the executions, to beat inevitable decomposition, since preservatives used on cadavers today hadn’t been developed yet. The idea behind using bodies of executed felons was so that the felons could “make a sort of reparation to their fellow creatures by becoming useful after death,” according to a London sheriff a few centuries later. . This image is an imagined recreation of what a trip to an anatomical theater would have looked like during the heyday of public dissections, featuring our very own miniature anatomical theater located on the 3rd floor. Would you be able to stomach a trip to an anatomical theater? . . . #IMSSChicago #AnatomicalTheater #Anatomy #Dissection #MedicalHistory #AnatomyandPhysiology #Histmed

International Museum of Surgical Science

International Museum of Surgical Science

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