Nearly every human being experiences pain at some point in life. “The Universal Condition” examines issues in the perception of pain and chronicle medicine’s quest to relieve it, from the ancient use of psychoactive plants to contemporary laser therapy, focusing on milestones such as the discovery of anesthesia. Case studies will provide an in-depth look at some common pain syndromes, explaining their causes and available treatments.

Featured in the exhibit are historical artifacts from the Museum’s extensive collection, including trephined skulls, 19th-century anesthesia inhalers, and packaging for patent medicines containing opium, cannabis, and belladonna. The exhibit also showcases products and innovations in use today for the control of acute and chronic pain.

View our online exhibition below!

Communication Breakdown: Expressing Pain

Pain as Energy Imbalance: Traditional Treatments

Mapping the Pathways of Pain

Materia Medica: Painkilling Plants

What Doesn’t Kill Us Makes Us Stronger

What a Gas!

From the Battlefield to the Operating Room

An anesthesiologist beginning IV anesthesia in a modern operating room, photograph courtesy of the American Society of Anesthesiologists
An anesthesiologist beginning IV anesthesia in a modern operating room, photograph courtesy of the American Society of Anesthesiologists

Moving Toward Modern Anesthesia

Suffering in Vain?

The Birth of the Pain Industry

Better Living Through Chemistry

Mind Over Matter

The Therapeutic Spectrum

Depiction of an electromagnetic field by the discoverer of electromagnetism, c. 1865
Depiction of an electromagnetic field by the discoverer of electromagnetism, c. 1865

Thank you to our sponsors who made this exhibit possible!

Benefactors

Eli Lilly & Company

Patrons

American Society of Anesthesiologists
ENDO Pharmaceuticals
North American Medical
Solstice Neuroscience

Donors

American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA)
American Medical Association
American Pain Society
American Sociey of Interventional Pain Physicians
Ameican Massage Therapy Association (AMTA)
Advanced Neuromodulation Systems (ANS)
American Physical Therapy Association (APTA)
Cerner
Elan Pharmaceuticals
RS Medical
Medtronic Neurological

Supporters

American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses
American Soc./Adv. of Anes. in Dentistry (ASAAD)
Cardinal Health

Individuals

J. William Rosenthal, MD (Board Member)
James R. Doty, MD
Sandra K Berger (Board Member)
Sheryl Bury-Michals (Board Member)
Advanced Pain Management
Interventional & Multi-Disciplinary Pain Management, PC