An unofficial blog about the National Museum of Health and Medicine (nee the Army Medical Museum) in Silver Spring, MD. Visit for news about the museum, new projects, musing on the history of medicine and neat pictures.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Digital archives
One thing that gives me the heebie-jeebies, though, is where the author says, "We horrify archivists when we talk about digitizing things and then throwing them away. Of course, one need not destroy the physical object after making a digital copy, but one of the most enjoyable aspects of Total Recall is the reduction of clutter; it is especially satisfying to shred one's papers and eliminate rows of filing cabinets and shelves. When curators come to deal with our archives, they will surely find hundreds fewer physical objects because of Total Recall. But they will have hundreds of thousands of additional digital artifacts. Whether you agree that is a highly positive trade-off, it is surely coming."
Archivists are fascinated by having/handling the real thing. I'm a big fan of not keeping multiple copies of some journal article but no way is some one-of-a-kind document going through the shredder because we've scanned it. Will I pitch my uncle's handwritten pages of his poetry because I have 600 ppi scans of them? I'll keep that clutter, thank you.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Darwin Symposium: Finished Proofs? A symposium to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species (1859)
The History of Medicine Division of the National Library of Medicine and the Office of History at the National Institutes of Health are pleased to announce a symposium:
Finished Proofs? A symposium to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species (1859)
Location: Lister Hill Auditorium, National Library of Medicine (NIH)
8600 Rockville Pike, Bldg. 38A
Bethesda, MD
Date: 1 October 2009
Time: 9:00 AM – 6:15 PM
SPEAKERS:
Janet Browne, Harvard University
Eric Green, National Human Genome Research Institute
Michael Ruse, Florida State University
Barry Werth, Independent Author
Edward O. Wilson, Harvard University
COMMENTATORS:
Nathaniel Comfort, Johns Hopkins University
Alan E. Guttmacher, National Human Genome Research Institute
Joe Palca, National Public Radio
Maxine Singer, Carnegie Institution for Science
All are welcome.
Michael J. North, northm@mail.nih.gov
Head of Rare Books & Early Manuscripts
History of Medicine Division
National Library of Medicine
8600 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, MD 20894
(301) 496-9204 * fax (301) 402-0872
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd
National Institutes of Health
Department of Health and Human Services
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Inventor of medical ultrasound has died
Civil War Reenactment at NMHM next Saturday, 10/3, 10am-5pm
“Civil War Reenactment at the Medical Museum”
When: Saturday, October 3, 2009, 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Where: The National Museum of Health and Medicine
Building 54
What: The grounds of the nation’s medical museum will be transformed into a living history experience of Regular Army life during the Civil War. Displays on Civil War medicine and the role of the Sanitary Commission will be available along with exhibits on camp life, infantry drilling exercises and 19th century weapons displays. Children will enjoy hands-on activities such as building a replica of the hospital ship USS Red Rover, making a medical unit flag and creating a pin-hole camera.
Performances by the Federal City Brass Band at 10:00, 11:00, 1:30 & 2:30.
The reenactment is made possible by members of the 3rd U.S. Regular Infantry Reenactors. AFIP’s very own YN2(AW) Kelly Cochran is a member of the 3rd U.S. and will participate in the program!
While visiting the reenactment, visitors are encouraged to tour the Museum's permanent exhibition "To Bind Up the Nation's Wounds: Medicine During the Civil War." NMHM was founded in 1862 to study battlefield medicine in order to improve the care of the soldier.
The event will take place on the west grounds of the museum and in the museum galleries. This family event is open to the Walter Reed community and the general public.
Cost: FREE
Free parking available. Photo ID required.
For more information: nmhminfo@afip.osd.mil or (202) 782-2673
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
NY Times on insurance falling behind medical technology
By ASHLEE VANCE
Published: September 15, 2009
Devices like iPhones and netbook PCs that can help the speech-impaired are not covered by Medicare or insurers.
Flickr picture statistics
Ruminations on the latest issue of museum & society
This rolled in recently:
Hello, Subscribers to museum & society ,
The latest issue of museum & society is now available online at: www.le.ac.uk/ms/museumsociety.html.
contents
‘Journey without maps’: unsettling curatorship in cross-cultural contexts
Lisa Chandler
Translations: experiments in dialogic representation of cultural diversity in three museum sound installations
Mary Hutchison and Lea Collins
Objects, subjects, bits and bytes: learning from the digital collections of the National Museums
Siân Bayne, Jen Ross and Zoe Williamson
Review Article
Simon J. Knell, Suzanne MacLeod and Sheila Watson (eds),
Museum Revolutions: How Museums Change and are Changed
Kylie Message
Best wishes,
Jim Roberts
Production Editor
museum & society
******************************
Jim Roberts Hon FMA
Webmaster
University of Leicester
School of Museum Studies
http://www.le.ac.uk/museumstudies
The third article is of interest to me. One point that I think wasn’t emphasized enough is that non-art museums can only put about 1%, in a best case scenario, of their collections on display. Therefore the online museum gives people an opportunity to access objects that no one else, including the curators, are using or paying attention to. In our scanning project, we have over 700,000 images created. Some of them are books, but the great majority are photographs that nobody had looked at since they were taken and the only record of them had been an index card in a nondescript building in Washington, DC. Someday soon, these will be available to anyone in the world who has Internet access. To me, that’s a big change in the status quo.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Interesting public health article on social media and hapiness
Is Happiness Catching?
By CLIVE THOMPSON
Published: September 13, 2009
Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler say your friends — and even your friends’ friends — can make you quit smoking, eat too much or get happy. A look inside the emerging science of social contagion.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Excellent water public health article in NY Times
Toxic Waters
Clean Water Laws Are Neglected, at a Cost in Human Suffering
By CHARLES DUHIGG
Published: September 13, 2009
In the past five years, companies and workplaces have violated pollution laws more than 500,000 times. But most polluters have escaped punishment.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Teddy Bear Clinic on Saturday
Teddy Bear Clinic to take place Saturday, September 12
On Saturday, September 12 from 1-3 p.m., the National Museum of Health and Medicine will its first Teddy Bear Clinic. It should be a lot of fun!
We’re asking kids in PreK-3 to 2nd grade to bring their favorite stuffed animals to be checked out by the experts. First they’ll visit a craft station where they’ll make doctor’s headbands, nurse’s hats, and doctor’s bags. Then, they’ll visit several stations where their stuffed animal’s vitals and teeth will be checked, shots will be administered, and healthy eating and exercising habits will be discussed. (Hopefully the kids will learn a few things, too!) At the end of the program, their friend will be issued a clean bill of health certificate.
This will be the last in a series of programs that were designed to complement the exhibition entitled “David Macaulay Presents: The Way We Work.” The exhibit closes on September 20, so stop by soon if you haven’t had a chance to see it.
The Public Programs staff would like to thank Aileen Mavity, one of the museum’s summer interns, for her help in designing this program!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
On a couple of nondescript stereographs
The 'Dutch Courtship' was probably intended to be humorous.
This crowd scene is meaningless now without its caption.
So, why did I buy these?
Both are by William H. Rau.
So?
He was William Bell's son-in-law. Bell was the Museum's best photographer of the 19th century who took photographed many of the Civil War soldiers at the Museum. He was the subject of a small exhibit at the American Art museum last year.
Friday, September 4, 2009
We've been blogged
Museum to Participate in Cultural Tourism DC's Fall WalkingTown DC
Museum to Participate in Cultural Tourism DC’s Fall WalkingTown DC
Below is the listing from Cultural Tourism’s website (www.WalkingTownDC.org) for the walking tour that the Museum will take part in on September 19. If you’d like to join in, make your reservation soon because we can only accommodate 30 participants. Last spring, we participated in WalkingTown for the first time with rave reviews. This year, John Pierce, Walter Reed Society historian, will lead the walking tour of the Walter Reed campus—he plans to take the group into the lobby of Building 1 to share the history of that beautiful structure. He will end his portion of the tour at the Museum, where Andi Sacks, Museum Docent Extraordinaire, will provide an introduction to the exhibtions and walk around with the group to describe highlights.
Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the National Museum of Health and Medicine
Saturday, September 19
9 - 11 am
Meet at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Building 1 (enter Georgia Avenue/Elder Street gate)
Nearest Metrorail/Metrobus: Takoma Park Metro station (Red line), 70 Metrobus
End at National Museum of Health and Medicine, Building 54
Reservations required: Online
Explore the 100-year history of Walter Reed Army Medical Center and learn how one man’s dream led to one of today’s leading medical facilities. Landmarks include the original US Army General hospital, where Eisenhower and General of the Armies John J. Pershing spent their final days, the new hospital complex, the formal Rose Garden, the Memorial Chapel, the Walter Reed Memorial, and the spot President Lincoln was nearly shot during the Battle of Fort Stevens. Then tour the National Museum of Health and Medicine to learn about the history of military medicine, including a special exhibit about the medical care given to President Lincoln during his last hours. Tour is just over one mile long. Led by John Pierce, a retired Army physician and historian of the Walter Reed Society and Andi Sacks, a National Museum of Health and Medicine Docent.
Note: Photo ID required.
Development of the Historical Archives
Bring your kids! Teddy Bear Clinic at NMHM, Saturday, 9/12, 1:00 p.m.
“Teddy Bear Clinic”
When: Saturday, September 12, 2009 (1:00-3:00 p.m.)
Where: National Museum of Health and Medicine
What: Bring your favorite stuffed friend and explore the Teddy Bear Clinic with activities and crafts designed to highlight the body, nutrition, physical fitness, and healthy habits.
Recommended for grades PreK-2.
Cost: FREE!
Information: nmhminfo@afip.osd.mil or (202) 782-2673
Thursday, September 3, 2009
2 pictures of Sickles
One of our main Civil War attractions is General Sickle’s legbones, which he sent into the Museum. I found two pictures of him on the web today, at New Jersey’s Archives website at http://www.state.nj.us/state/darm/links/guides/sdea4010images7.html . They’re at the bottom of this page.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Swine flu
But!! When the human influenza virus was discovered in 1933, it was found to be closely related to the swine virus, which supported the notion that swine flu originated in humans. So why did swine flu continue to appear once human flu more or less disappeared, at least as a pandemic, in about 1920? Dr. Shope maintained that the virus found a way to perpetuate itself in the hog population, which was ultimately proven when the swine lungworm, a nematode parasitic in the respiratory tract, was discovered. It serves as a reservoir and intermediate host, which is why the flu sticks around. If not for this reservoir, swine flu would have subsided about the same time as the human influenza virus.
Still with me? The article in the Medical Tribune, where I got all this information, is illustrated with a photo of Dr. Shope receiving the Ricketts Award from the son of Howard Taylor Ricketts, the doctor I wrote about yesterday, and for whom the award was named.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Rickettsial spotted fever
"I kept at the microscope this afternoon because I felt pretty sure that I was finding some micro-organisms in the blood taken from the spots of the patients. I think I am not mistaken. They resemble the spotted fever bacilli somewhat, but stain poorly. I hope within a day or two to feel pretty sure one way or another. They are so hard to recognize that I doubt whether any one else here would see them. But I have so strongly suspected a relationship between spotted fever and typhus that I was looking for that very thing. Don't get excited over it, for it may be some accidental affair. However, I shall push it as rapidly as I can, and as soon as possible shall begin a paper so that there would be little delay in publication..."
Think of the excitement he had to have been holding in check, and hoping he wasn't seeing something that wasn't there.
Within six months he died from typhus, at the age of 39.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Commercialism, merchandising and the role of a museum
Artifact or Artifice?
If Simon, Randy and Paula's Desk Sits in the Smithsonian, Is the Institution Performing Its Proper Role in Chronicling Our Culture?
By Philip Kennicott
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
NY Times op-ed on Sigmund Freud's visit to the US
Freud’s Adirondack Vacation
By LEON HOFFMAN
Published: August 29, 2009
How an invitation from a prominent American scientist 100 years ago gave psychoanalysis its start in the United States.
Friday, August 28, 2009
PR: Eä - Journal of Medical Humanities & Social Studies of Science and Technology
Dear friends,
It is our great pleasure to inform you about the publication of Vol. 1 Nº 1 of Eä – Journal of Medical Humanities & Social Studies of Science and Technology (ISSN 1852-4680), a periodical electronic journal in an interactive format publishing papers on Medical Humanities and Social Studies of Science and Technology. The journal is available at the URL www.ea-journal.com.
The journal aims to be in the junction between academic excellence and the development of the new technologies of information and social networks. The journal gathers a prestigious editorial committee, is peer reviewed by international referees and meets the requirements of periodical publications indexes. Eä publishes three issues a year (April, August, and December). It is presented in Spanish and English, and accepts texts in Spanish, English, Portuguese and French, reaching global impact. This publication has been created under the Web 2.0 paradigm, with a dynamic layout that promotes user-reader's interaction between them and with the website.
We invite you to go through the contents of this first issue and we wait for your comments and suggestions in order to improve this journal. Next deadline for submitting papers to be published in Vol. 1 Nº 2 (December 2009) will be October 1st. We invite you to help us by spreading this initiative among your colleagues, and we also invite you to submit papers for publication for our next issue. You may find information for authors in the following link: http://www.ea-journal.com/en/information-for-authors or you can send us an e-mail to submit@ea-journal.com.
Yours sincerely,
Jaime Elías Bortz, Academic Director
Gabriela Mijal Bortz, Editorial Director
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Bert Hansen's book on mass media images reviewed in today's Times
This article -
When a Doctor Is More, and Less, Than a Healer
By ABIGAIL ZUGER, M.D.
August 25, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/25/health/25book.html
Reviews Bert’s new book -
PICTURING MEDICAL PROGRESS FROM PASTEUR TO POLIO
A History of Mass Media Images and Popular Attitudes in America. By Bert Hansen. Rutgers University Press. 348 pages. $37.95.
-which I thought was excellent. We have a copy in the Museum.
1957 influenza epidemic
4-volume book set of historical Ophthalmology photographs donated
Dr. Stanley Burns, a longtime friend of the Museum, donated his latest publication yesterday – a 4-volume book set of historical ophthalmology photographs. It’s only been out for two weeks and we’re quite pleased to get it. Dr. Burns has one of the largest private collections of history of medicine photographs and opens it for use as the Burns Archive in New York City. This is the 6th set of historical medical photographs that he’s published , and its formal title is Ophthalmology A Photographic History 1845-1945, Selections from the Burns Archive.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Noteworthy Pathologists
OK, it's a bunch of people in a photo. What makes this so remarkable is a letter that accompanied it to the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology where the sender writes, "It probably represents the last time that some of the great giants of pathology of the early part of the 20th century ever came together. Only a few attended the Third Congress in Stockholm in 1937 and then came the War. By the time of resumption of meetings in 1950 most of them were gone."
The records even include a chart of names of some of the attendees.
Ben Gage, art handler, blogs about moving museum piece
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
National Museum of Health and Medicine: Walter Reed Army Hospital
http://artandarthandling.blogspot.com/2009/08/national-museum-of-health-and-medicine.htmlMore Nursing Materials in the Archives
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Conventions of Display: Cultures of Exhibition in Twentieth-Century Medicine. NLM History of Medicine Summer of Seminars
NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE
History of Medicine Division
Summer of Seminars
Thursday, August 27, 2009, 2-3:30pm
NLM Visitor Center, Bldg 38A, NLM
Bethesda, MD
Conventions of Display: Cultures of Exhibition in Twentieth-Century
Medicine.
Miriam Posner
Yale University
Most medical historians have heard of anatomical museums and displays of
anomalies in earlier eras. Few are aware, however, that exhibition has
also been a crucial component of twentieth-century medicine. The
prominence of exhibition in medicine suggests that historians should
refine their notions of how medical ideas are communicated to
accommodate this lively and interactive culture.
The next History of Medicine Division seminar will be held on Wednesday,
September 9, 2-3:30pm, in the NLM Visitor Center, Bldg 38A. In
conjunction with NLM's newest travelling exhibit, "The Literature of
Prescription: Charlotte Perkins Gilman and 'The Yellow Wall-Paper,'"
Helen Horowitz of Smith College will speak on "Underneath the Whirls:
Rethinking Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Sex, Nervous Breakdown, and S. Weir
Mitchell."
All are Welcome
Sign language interpretation is provided. Individuals with disabilities
who need reasonable accommodation to participate may contact Stephen
Greenberg at (301-435-4995), e-mail greenbes@mail.nih.gov, or the
Federal Relay (1-800-877-8339).
Due to current security measures at NIH, off-campus visitors are advised
to consult the NLM Visitors and Security website:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/about/visitor.html
Stephen J. Greenberg, MSLS, PhD
Coordinator of Public Services
History of Medicine Division
National Library of Medicine
National Institutes of Health
Department of Health and Human Services
301-435-4995
greenbes@mail.nih.gov
Korean War ballistics studies
There are now 921 items across Historical, Anatomical and Archives divisions related to Korean War ballistics research, searchable (in our internal EMU database) under the keyword phrase “Korean War Ballistics.” These various research projects are detailed in the OTSG publication “Wound Ballistics in World War II supplemented by experiences in the Korean War.”
This includes all the historic armored vest material on display to the public.
AFIP's CWIP & metal frag programs
The Pentagon News Broadcast featuring AFIP’s collaboration with the Combat Wound Initiative Program and interviews with Dr. Izadjoo, COL Stojodinovic and Adonnis on the Pentagon Channel .
You can also visit the link http://www.pentagonchannel.mil/ and click on the “Around the Services” broadcast for 19 August 2009 “Infection Collection - Scientists collect bacteria from wounded warriors for healing research.”
Monday, August 17, 2009
Government Printing Office (GPO) Military History Update features WRAMC book
New Military History PublicationsIssue #130 - August 2009
1. Walter Reed Army Medical Center Centennial: A Pictorial History, 1909-2009 (Hardcover) Description: Provides A profusely illustrated history covering the full range of Year/Pages: 2009: 293 p. ; ill. Stock #: 008-000-01020-0 International Price: $49.00
Prices and availability are subject to change. In addition to online, orders may be submitted via telephone, fax (202-512-2104), email, and postal mail. Contact the GPO Contact Center between 8:00 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., EST at 1-866-512-1800 (Toll-free) or 202-512-1800 (DC Metro area only) to place or inquire about orders. When placing an order via phone, please refer to processing code 3378. Send email orders to ContactCenter@gpo.gov. Send mail orders to: U.S. Government Printing Office, P.O. Box 979050, St. Louis, MO 63197-9000. |
U.S. Government Printing Office · 732 N. Capitol Street, NW · Washington, DC 20401 |
AFIP REMAINS OPEN FOR BUSINESS- NOTICE TO CONTRIBUTORS
Tuesday, August 11, 2009 11:31 AM
NOTICE TO CONTRIBUTORS
AFIP's Pathology Consultative Services Remain Fully Functional
The Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, AFIP, is open for business and
absolutely will continue to receive and process pathology consultation
cases in our AFIP laboratories. The AFIP proudly continues to serve our
beneficiaries and customers as we have done ever since our founding in
1862.
Unfortunately, it has come to the attention of the AFIP that some
contributors are confused and under the false impression that the AFIP
will no longer be accepting cases for consultation after August 2009 or
that the AFIP has already transitioned into another organization.
This is not the case - the AFIP has not closed. We want to assure you
that the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology and its AFIP labs are still
operational and located at 6825 16th Street, NW, Washington, DC, on the
campus of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
The AFIP will continue to support and enhance the health and well being
of the Department of Defense, Veterans Administration, other
Governmental Agencies, and the civilian medical community. The AFIP
continues to serve by providing medical, veterinary, and dental
expertise in pathology in diagnostic consultation, education, and
research.
Looking toward the future years, the Department of Defense is in the
process of establishing an organization called the Joint Pathology
Center (JPC) which will succeed the AFIP when the AFIP is disestablished
in accordance with the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process in
September 2011. The JPC, in accordance with Section 722 of Public Law
110-181, will function as the reference center in pathology for the
Federal Government and will, at a minimum, provide pathology services to
the military healthcare system, Department of Veterans Affairs, and
other federal agencies.
The AFIP and other leaders in military healthcare are committed to
ensuring that DoD continues to have a one-stop shop for pathology
consultation and that the transition from the AFIP to the JPC in terms
of services will be transparent and seamless to our beneficiaries and
customers.
There should be no decrement in pathology consultative services as the
AFIP transitions to the JPC by 2011. We will keep you updated on this
process over the next several years.
So, please rest assured that the AFIP is open and definitely continues
to accept military, Veterans Affairs, and civilian cases in all
pathology departments and that the AFIP is committed to maintaining its
tradition of pathology consultative services, education and research.
NLM History of Medicine Summer of Seminars
History of Medicine Division
Summer of Seminars
Thursday, August 13, 2009, 2-3:30pm
NLM Visitor Center, Bldg 38A, NLM
Bethesda, MD
"Poster Children and the Construction of American International
Identity."
Julia F. Irwin
Yale University
Throughout the twentieth century, American public health and medical
philanthropies relied on images of children to raise funds and awareness
for their international health and social welfare interventions. Such
images evoked innocence and vulnerability, but also promise and
possibility. Because of this combination of traits, representations of
children proved quite valuable for reformers trying to garner domestic
support for overseas assistance projects. They suggested, moreover, that
Americans had a moral obligation to share their biomedical, scientific,
and financial assets with the world. In a period in which the United
States was consolidating its political and economic influence in the
world to become a global power, these projections of altruistic American
internationalism carried important cultural weight.
The final HMD "Summer of Seminars" program will be held on Thursday,
August 27, 2-3:30pm, in the NLM Visitor Center, Bldg 38A. Miriam Posner
(Yale University) will speak on "Conventions of Display: Cultures of
Exhibition in Twentieth-Century Medicine."
All are Welcome
Sign language interpretation is provided. Individuals with disabilities
who need reasonable accommodation to participate may contact Stephen
Greenberg at (301-435-4995), e-mail greenbes@mail.nih.gov, or the
Federal Relay (1-800-877-8339).
Due to current security measures at NIH, off-campus visitors are advised
to consult the NLM Visitors and Security website:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/about/visitor.html
Stephen J. Greenberg, MSLS, PhD
Coordinator of Public Services
History of Medicine Division
National Library of Medicine
National Institutes of Health
Department of Health and Human Services
301-435-4995
greenbes@mail.nih.gov
Friday, August 14, 2009
How good we have it
Friday, August 7, 2009
Peter Parker painting collection online
Thanks to Masteribid for the tip.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
1336 new records added to EMU catalogue
Kathleen changed the Ball Ophthalmic Museum finding aid that she’d recently revised into a spreadsheet and we imported it into our EMU catalogue today. 1336 new records exist now.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Cigars? Cigarettes? Gross photo?
Roughly 1600 new records added to our EMU catalogue today
Jasmine converted the list of folders in the AFIP Historical Files to a spreadsheet and we imported them today. If you search on the title, you’ll get the folder title. A sample would be - Institutional Records of Afip or Museum - folder - Davis, Harry A. (1875-1951); Entomologist with AFIP [AFIP Historical Files] - Active - AFIP Box 55.
Hopefully we’ll get the catalogue open to the general public in 2010.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Another excellent cancer article in NY Times
Forty Years' War
Lack of Study Volunteers Hobbles Cancer Fight
By GINA KOLATA
Published: August 3, 2009
In the war on cancer, a major hurdle involves finding cancer patients willing to participate in clinical trials.
Michael Kimmelman on viewing art in a museum
Abroad
At Louvre, Many Stop to Snap but Few Stay to Focus
By MICHAEL KIMMELMAN
Published: August 3, 2009
Watching people look at art rekindles a question: What exactly are we looking for when we wander museums?
Friday, July 31, 2009
NLM History of Medicine Summer of Seminars
History of Medicine Division
Summer of Seminars
Thursday, August 6, 2009, 2-3:30pm
NLM Visitor Center, Bldg 38A, NLM
Bethesda, MD
"The Anatomist and the Book in the Early Sixteenth Century."
R. Allen Shotwell, Indiana University
The role of the book in the study of anatomy is an interesting one.
This presentation suggests that there are things to be learned by
looking at the history of anatomy as a topic in the larger history of
the book, but these lessons may not be as simple nor as pervasive as
some might think.
The next HMD "Summer of Seminars" program will be held on Thursday,
August 13, 2-3:30pm in the NLM Visitor Center, Bldg 38A. Julia F. Irwin
(Yale University) will speak on "Poster Children and the Construction of
American International Identity." The final program in the series will
be held Thursday, August 27, 2-3:30pm, also in the NLM Visitor Center,
Bldg 38A. Miriam Posner (Yale University) will speak on "Conventions of
Display: Cultures of Exhibition in Twentieth-Century Medicine."
All are Welcome
Sign language interpretation is provided. Individuals with disabilities
who need reasonable accommodation to participate may contact Stephen
Greenberg at (301-435-4995), e-mail greenbes@mail.nih.gov, or the
Federal Relay (1-800-877-8339).
Due to current security measures at NIH, off-campus visitors are advised
to consult the NLM Visitors and Security website:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/about/visitor.html
Stephen J. Greenberg, MSLS, PhD
Coordinator of Public Services
History of Medicine Division
National Library of Medicine
National Institutes of Health
Department of Health and Human Services
301-435-4995
greenbes@mail.nih.gov
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
History of battlefield medicine - CNN.com
A former intern sent in this site - http://edition.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/07/23/battlefield.medicine.history/index.html?iref=intlOnlyonCNN#cnnSTCOther1 – which has some nice images, but note that the images don’t necessarily correspond to the text alongside them. There was no photography in the Napoleonic Wars for instance.
Monday, July 27, 2009
By popular demand! Weekday Medical Illustration class added at NMHM, August 6th.
“An Introduction to Techniques in Medical Illustration”
When: Thursday, August 6, 2009 (10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.)
Where: National Museum of Health and Medicine
What: This workshop will explore the delicate beauty of traditional carbon dust illustration. While working from real specimens, participants will learn about the careful observation and drawing techniques required to create beautiful and accurate drawings using carbon dust, colored pencil, and ink. Ages 13 to adult. All levels welcome.
Course leader: Elizabeth Lockett, Scientific Illustrator and Collections Manager of the Museum’s Human Developmental Anatomy Center
Pre-registration is required by July 31, 2009: nmhminfo@afip.osd.mil or (202) 782-2673. Class limited to 15 students.
Cost: FREE!
Photo ID required.
Information: nmhminfo@afip.osd.mil or (202) 782-2673
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
This is what the Creative Commons is all about
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
New banner exhibition available from NLM
I am posting this message on behalf of a colleague. Please direct any inquiries to her. Thanks!
A NEW BANNER EXHIBITION!
The National Library of Medicine is accepting requests to host a new banner exhibition scheduled to be available October 4 2009.
The title is Literature of Prescription: Charlotte Perkins Gilman and “The Yellow Wall-Paper”
In the late nineteenth century, at a time when women were challenging traditional ideas about gender that excluded them from political and intellectual life, medical and scientific experts drew on notions of female weakness to justify inequality between the sexes. Artist and writer Charlotte Perkins Gilman, who was discouraged from pursuing a career to preserve her health, rejected these ideas in a terrifying short story titled “The Yellow Wall-Paper.” The famous tale served as an indictment of the medical profession and the social conventions restricting women's professional and creative opportunities.
As with our other banner exhibitions, we are asking host libraries to cover incoming FedX expenses, which usually run a few hundred dollars. The booking period is six weeks. The online exhibition will feature K-12 lesson plans and a higher education module and will be available after Labor Day.
An additional note, historian Helen Horowitz advised on the project and developed the higher education module, and is currently writing a book about the topic. She’ll be speaking about her research on Gilman at the History of Medicine Division Seminar this September 9 for those who are interested. http://www.smith.edu/history/fac_hhorowitz.htm
Thank you.
Patricia Tuohy
Head, Exhibition Program
National Library of Medicine
8600 Rockville Pike
Building 38/Room 1E-21
Bethesda MD 20894
t: 301.435.5240
f: 301.402.0872
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
New Adler Museum Bulletin received
Monday, July 13, 2009
War Surgery book
Here are two images I numbered today.
Radiographs of hand fracture stabilization with Kirschner wires.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Wellcome Library Year in Review now available (PR)
http://library.wellcome.ac.uk/assets/wtx055651.pdf
http://library.wellcome.ac.uk/assets/wtx055652.pdf
The Review covers our activities during 2008, specifically highlighting our digitisation programme. We also showcase some of our exciting acquisitions from the year, including the casebooks of the 'father of modern forensics' Sir Bernard Spilsbury and the notebooks of double Nobel Prize winning geneticist Fred Sanger.
A limited number of print copies of the Year in Review will be available. If you would like to request a copy please contact t.tillotson@wellcome.ac.uk.
They link to a neat article about Spilsbury.
War Surgery book wins award
I recv'd a letter today informing me that "War Surgery in Afghanistan & Iraq: A Series of Cases, 2003-2007" has won a national book award.
The American Medical Writers Association in Rockville, Maryland announces that "War Surgery": "is the winner of the distinguished 2009 AMWA Medical Book Award. AMWA's annual book awards "were established more than 30 years ago to recognize the very best in ... non-fictional medical writing." The textbook was "1 of 18 submitted ... and was evaluated by a panel of 4 judges."
The award will be formally presented in October in Dallas at the AMWA's 69th Annual Conference ... which may explain why notice of this award is not presently noted on its website www.amwa.org.
[For the record, the textbook was also nominated last spring for a Sidney Hillman Foundation Award, but in the end was not selected.]
The book has received uniformly favorable reviews from deployed medical officers (British & American) and in both lay (NYT, New York Review of Books, and The Economist) and peer-referenced (JAMA, NEJM, and Environmental & Wilderness Medicine, the journal of the Wilderness Medical Society) literature, as well as in the open media (BBC, NPR).
This is an excellent book, in the grand tradition of military medical publications, dating back to the Medical & Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion. You can download the whole thing for free at the link above, or order the book from the Government Printing Office.
Flickr picture statistics
View counts
So far today Yesterday All time
Photos and Videos 295 689 1,049,485
Photostream 205 461 843,269
Sets 41 192 66,807
Total 541 1,342 1,959,561
Walter Reed Army Institute of Research photographic collection
WRAIR~D1784Photo by HOCH, January 1977. BRAZIL~ANIMALS MARABA FISH.
In the 1960s and 70s (and possibly longer), doctors trained by the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) were sent out to investigate tropical medicine while given cameras and film to document what they found. WRAIR had many photographs including film teams, all over the world including in Vietnam. The Vietnam still photos went to the National Archives when WRAIR moved into its current building, and the Medical Museum got 1/2 of the other still pictures that were left. We're now scanning WRAIR's third (thanks to their providing funding) and our third to create a digital collection that can be used by WRAIR and our researchers.
WRAIR D1783. Photo by HOCH, January 1977. BRAZIL - HIGHWAYS MARABA T-AM GOSLOS BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION.
I put these samples of the first test batch of scans on Flickr. The captions are limited because they're being taken from a printout of an early computerized catalogue. As you can see, not all of the pictures deal directly with medicine.
WRAIR D1762. January 1977. BRAZIL~UPPER TORSO MARABA BLACK FLY BITES CPT HOCH.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
I'm in IMDB?
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2657374/
Michael Rhode
Overview
STARmeter:
Down 48% in popularity this week.Filmography
Thanks:
- "Nova" (special thanks) (1 episode, 2004)
- Life and Death in the War Zone (2004) TV episode (special thanks)
Museum's scanning statistics
AFIP's online continuing medical education
You can also buy some of the Museum's photographs there - notably the McGee Russo-Japanese War collection which we haven't gotten online anywhere else yet.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Embryo Models Found
By popular demand: second Medical Illustration class added at NMHM, July 25th.
“An Introduction to Techniques in Medical Illustration”
When: Saturday, July 25, 2009 (1:00 – 4:00 p.m.)
**Note: The July 11th class has been filled to capacity. Spots for the July 25th class are filling quickly (only 9 left)—register today!
Where: National Museum of Health and Medicine
What: This workshop will explore the delicate beauty of traditional carbon dust illustration. While working from real specimens, participants will learn about the careful observation and drawing techniques required to create beautiful and accurate drawings using carbon dust, colored pencil, and ink. Ages 13 to adult. All levels welcome.
Course leader: Elizabeth Lockett, Scientific Illustrator and Collections Manager of the Museum’s Human Developmental Anatomy Center
Pre-registration is required by July 8, 2009: nmhminfo@afip.osd.mil or (202) 782-2673. Class limited to 15 students.
Cost: FREE!
Photo ID required.
Information: nmhminfo@afip.osd.mil or (202) 782-2673
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Are you up for some weirdness?
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
New collection available in Archives
Two notebooks from Thomas McGrath with course notes on Experimental Physiology and Physiological Chemistry from classes at Albany Medical College, 1906-1907.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
NY Times on cancer research
Grant System Leads Cancer Researchers to Play It Safe
By GINA KOLATA
Published: June 28, 2009
A major impediment in the fight against cancer is that most research grants go to projects unlikely to break much ground.
Bert's book has quite a bit on antitoxins, serums and therapies derived from attenuated germs in animals. So much so that I was planning on writing to him and asking if he knew why nobody was using these types of methods anymore, in favor of relying on vaccination and antibiotics. At one point he noted that there were over 70 different tuberculosis serums - if drug-resistant TB continues to evolve, and by definition it will, one would think this earlier cure holds new promise.
However, this article from tomorrow's paper harks back to the future, and again, Bert's book can shed light on these historical techniques being rediscovered.
New Treatment for Cancer Shows Promise in Testing
By NICHOLAS WADE
Published: June 29, 2009
A new method of attacking cancer cells, developed by researchers in Australia, has proved surprisingly effective in animal tests.
Medical exhibit at Smithsonian Folklife Festival
The Smithsonian Folklife Festival is going on this week, and in the Wales section is a small exhibit on the history of medicine.
Wales turns out to be a major source for medicinal leeches, sold by Biopharma.
There is also a small display of historical pharmaceuticals.
Pill rollers aren't all that uncommon even now, but that's a nice ledger and some good ephemera in the labels.
The largest section was a medical garden.
The exhibit is up through July 5th