Letter of the Day: March 4

Curatorial Records: Numbered Correspondence 01302

Subject

War Department
Surgeon General's Office,
Washington,

March 4, 1896

Major Walter Reed
Surgeon, U.S. Army,
Curator, Army Medical Museum,
Washington, D.C.

My Dear Reed:

Every time I have seen you of late I have forgotten a subject about which I intended to speak to you, and it is this: Occasionally books and other articles are purchased by the Surgeon General and sent down to you either for the Army Medical School or for the Museum proper. When they are for the School, do I understand that you take them up on your return and account for them? If for the Museum, I believe you drop them as deposited. Please let me know about this, whether it would be better for me to invoice to you any articles that are purchased by the Surgeon General for the Army medical School or for the Museum.

Very truly yours,
CH Alden

The First Armed Forces Medical Examiner dies

The AFIP Director sent out this note today:

It is with great regret that I inform you of the passing of the First, Armed Forces Medical Examiner, Dr. Richard Froede. He was also a key player in the formation of the DNA Laboratory and DNA Repository. Dr. Froede also served terms as a member of the AFIP Scientific Advisory Board, and the ARP Executive Board. He succumbed after a lengthy illness, on February 9, 2011 in Arizona. His devotion to the AFIP will be missed. He will be interred at Arlington National Cemetery on March 24, 2011 at 3:00 p.m.

Letter of the Day: March 3

Curatorial Records: Numbered Correspondence 03716

War Department,
Office of the Surgeon General,
Army Medical Museum and Library,
Washington

March 3, 1899
Dr. D. H. Hazen
407 6th Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C.

Dear Sir:

I have the pleasure of acknowledging the receipt on the 3rd inst., of a human ovum, contributed by you to this Museum and to thank you for this addition to the Museum collection.

Very respectfully,
Walter Reed
Major and Surgeon, U.S.A.
Curator

Dental centennial

MEDICAL MUSEUM TO CLOSE EXHIBITS ON APRIL 3, 2011 TO PREPARE FOR MOVE TO SILVER SPRING, MD

MEDICAL MUSEUM TO CLOSE EXHIBITS ON APRIL 3, 2011
TO PREPARE FOR MOVE TO SILVER SPRING, MD

February 28, 2011, Washington, D.C.: As part of the relocation of the National Museum of Health and Medicine from its present location to its new home in Silver Spring, Maryland, exhibits at the present location will phase out over the coming weeks. The last day that the public may visit any exhibits at the Museum in its present location will be on Sunday, April 3, 2011. All of the Museum’s exhibits are expected to remain available to visitors through April 3, 2011.

The Museum is open to the public daily, 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (including weekends and holidays), on the campus at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Admission and parking are free. Adults must present government-issued photo identification to gain entry to the Walter Reed campus, and vehicles are subject to search. Learn more about planning a visit to the Museum on the campus of Walter Reed at http://nmhm.washingtondc.museum/planning/index.html.

NMHM will complete its relocation to the Forest Glen Annex during the summer of 2011 and looks forward to welcoming the public at its new location in the fall. Stay tuned to the Museum’s website, Facebook page and e-newsletter for details.

During this transition period, while the Museum is closed to the public at its present location on the Walter Reed campus, Museum public programs staff will be working to continue their activities at other locations in the Silver Spring, Md., area. Stay tuned to our website and Facebook page for details.

Questions should be directed to Tim Clarke, NMHM Deputy Director for Communications, (202) 782-2672.

About the National Museum of Health and Medicine

• The National Museum of Health and Medicine, established in 1862, inspires interest in and promotes the understanding of medicine—past, present, and future—with a special emphasis on tri-service American military medicine. As a National Historic Landmark recognized for its ongoing value to the health of the military and to the nation, the Museum identifies, collects, and preserves important and unique resources to support a broad agenda of innovative exhibits, educational programs, and scientific, historical, and medical research. The Museum is presently located at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, 6900 Georgia Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. Visit www.nmhm.washingtondc.museum or call (202) 782-2200 for more information.

 

Letter of the Day: March 2

Curatorial Records: Numbered Correspondence 08185

War Department,
Office of the Surgeon General,
Army Medical Museum and Library,
Washington

March 2, 1905

Major Henry A. Shaw
Surgeon, U.S.A.
Fort Adams, R.I.

My Dear Major Shaw,

The specimen from stool forwarded by you Feby. 27, 1905 was received yesterday and your letter came this morning. The microscopic examination of the stool gives a negative result, but the agglutination test with the blood and a culture of Shiga's bacillus gives decided clumping, so much so indeed that the reaction deserves to be called positive. The culture used was an alkaline type of Shiga obtained in the Philippines by Dr. Flexner.

With kind regards and best wishes,
Yours very sincerely,
James Carroll
1st Lieut. Asst. Surgeon, U.S.A.
Curator, Army Medical Museum.

PR: NLM Adds Rare Persian Manuscript to Turning the Pages

NLM Adds Rare Persian Manuscript, al-Qazwini's "The Wonders of Creation," to Turning the Pages Interactive Interface

The National Library of Medicine announces the release of a new Turning the Pages virtual book on its Web site (http://archive.nlm.nih.gov/proj/ttp/books.htm. The new book is the Kitab Aja'ib al-makhluqat wa Gharaib al-Mawjudat, literally "The Wonders of Creation," compiled in the middle 1200s in what is now Iran or Iraq. The vibrantly illustrated work is considered one of the most important natural history texts of the medieval Islamic world.

The author, Abu Yahya Zakariya ibn Muhammad ibn Mahmud-al-Qazwini (ca. 1203-1283 CE), is known simply as al-Qazwini. One of the most noted natural historians, geographers and encyclopedists of the period, he was born in the city of Qazwin in Persia and received much of his education in Baghdad, the cultural center of the region. Al-Qazwini wrote most of his works in Arabic. This beautifully illustrated Persian translation was created in 1537 in the Mughal Empire, corresponding to what is now Pakistan and northern India.

"The Wonders of Creation" is divided into two sections, focusing respectively on celestial phenomena, including the planets, stars, and angels, and the terrestrial world, including geography, ethnography, zoology, and botany. Al-Qazwini was primarily a compiler of information from different authors, both ancient and medieval, and made few original observations of his own. However, his flowing and understandable writing style and thoroughness on different topics made his texts popular and often quoted.

The manuscript copy itself consists of 335 leaves of paper with more than 150 illustrations, in opaque watercolors and ink, of constellations, mythical figures, and various plants and animals placed throughout the text. The Web exhibition contains a selection of these pages, accompanied by explanatory text.  The text is viewable by clicking the "T" in the upper left corner of the virtual book page. For more information see: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/news/turn_pages_persian.html.

Image caption: The Simurg, or Phoenix, and peacock in Zakarīyā' ibn Muhammad al-Qazwini's "Wonders of Creation," from Manuscript P 1 of the US National Library of Medicine's Turning the Pages project.

 

Civil War pictures continue to be posted to Flickr

Letter of the Day: March 1

Curatorial Records: Numbered Correspondence 07352

War Department,
Office of the Surgeon General,
Army Medical Museum and Library,
Washington

March 1, 1904

Dr. Lewis B. Rowland, D.S.
Hagerstown,
Maryland.

Dear Sir:
I am directed by the Surgeon General, U.S.A. to express his thanks for the specimen of a right lower canine tooth with two roots, received from you on the 29th ult. It will be added to the collection with a properly inscribed card.

Very respectfully,
James Carroll
1st Lieut. Asst. Surgeon, U.S.A.
Curator, Army Medical Museum

The Old Army Medical Museum and the Watch and Ward Society

NMHM (Reeve 85182-73)

A new blog post over at the Massachusetts Historical Society - "Discovering the New England Watch and Ward Society" - highlights the Godfrey Lowell Cabot papers and their research value in the recent publication by Neil Miller: Banned in Boston: The Watch and Ward Society’s Crusade against Books, Burlesque, and the Social Evil (Boston: Beacon Press, 2010). The Watch and Ward Society monitored illegal and illicit behavior in Boston, wielding considerable political influence between 1878-1967.

Among the Watch and Ward Society material is this mention of the "Old Army Medical Museum," captured here from the MHS post by Anna J. Cook:

On 16 April 1918, J. Frank Chase, the secretary of the Watch and Ward, wrote a letter describing his visit to the Old Army Medical Museum in Washington D.C. for a screening of “Fit to Fight,” a propaganda film that was part of the military’s attempt to combat “the Social Diseases.” While he approved of the general effort, Chase was critical of certain aspects of the film:

Realizing the difficulties of the subject and how mistakes are inevitable and the diversity of opinion even among good people as to the details and the methods of doing this necessary work, I am loathe to criticize the work accomplished. Yet, I must urge one criticism of the method. It concerns the unwisdom [sic] of putting on exhibition at the very beginning or at all the picture of a nude woman of full front view, as is done in this film.

While he acknowledges the “nude” is, in fact, a statue of Venus, he argues that its manner of display is troubling. It “does not declare itself as a statue until after such a time as gives the mind a chance to conclude ‘Here is the picture of a naked woman,’ and to gasp at the boldness.”It is unclear from the existing correspondence whether anyone in the War Department was similarly offended by the film, or whether Chase’s objection to it had any effect on future screenings.

Check out the rest of the post here.

You are invited! Walter Reed Society reception in Medical Museum, 2 March, 1100-1300

You are invited to a reception at the Medical Museum and learn about the
future of the Walter Reed Society!

Visit the Medical Museum in Bldg. 54 to enjoy exhibits featuring
battlefield medicine in Iraq, human anatomy and pathology, and the final
hours of President Lincoln, and more.

Then, talk to Walter Reed Society leadership about their unique mission
now and in the future.

Light refreshments will be served.

Date: Wed., March 2, 2011

Hours: 1100-1330

The Walter Reed Society was founded in 1996 to benefit Walter Reed Army
Medical Center (WRAMC) and its educational, patient, treatment, and
research activities. The Society is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
registered in the District of Columbia. All friends of WRAMC are welcome
to join.

Contact Information:

Walter Reed Society, Inc.
PO Box 59611, Walter Reed Station
Washington, DC 20012-9611
Walterreedsociety@verizon.net
http://www.walterreedsociety.org

Horace Greeley Jacobs collection now online

The finding aid for the Horace Greeley Jacobs Collection (OHA 199.5) has been uploaded to the NMHM website here.

The Jacobs collection contains 25 items documenting to the life of Horace Greeley Jacobs, including those related to his service to the Union during the Civil War. Two of the most unique documents are a letter Jacobs wrote to his mother from Camp 19 on May 31, 1862 and a short narrative titled "Thoughts on the Battle Field" (c. 1864). The finding aid includes a biographical note about Jacobs from his years in the Union Army (he joined at 16) through to his death in 1910.

This is a small collection, but part of what makes it unique is that the Museum's anatomical department already contains material relating to Jacobs, specifically his left humerus (AFIP 0384696), which was donated when Jacobs was injured during the war.

A few images relating to Jacobs:


SP 103
Excised head and portion of shaft of left humerus, comminuted by a musket ball.

Jacobs, Horace G. 2LT, G, 6, ME

Doctor: Bliss, D.W. & Otis

Battle: Rappahannock Station, 7 November 1863


CP 1669B


CP 1669A

Letter of the Day: February 28

Curatorial Records: Numbered Correspondence 1285

February 28, 1896

Mr. Charles H. Ward,
Ward’s Natural Science Establishment,
Rochester, N.Y.

Dear Sir:

You will please prepare for this Museum, at your earliest convenience the following skeletons:

1 at birth. Received May 24, 18971 “ 1 month. Received Aug 7 18961 “ 2 months. Rec’d Aug. 7, 18961” 3 “ .
1 “ 6 “ . – Rec’d Sept 11, 1896 –1 “ 9 “ .
1 “ 1 year. Rec’d Sept 4 ,1897.1 “ 2 years.
1 “ 3 “ . –Rec’d June 22, 18961 “ 4 “ .
1 “ 5 “ .
1 “ 6 “ .

It is of course understood, that only skeletons of the known age, as indicated above, are desired for this Museum, as we already have quite a number of skeletons of unknown ages. They may be forwarded from time to time in small lots, and will be paid for as fast as received. In a short time I shall send you an additional order for some of 7 to 20 years of age.

You will also forward to this Museum:

A dislocating skeleton, Cat. Po. 7, No. 3. Rec’d Aug 7, 1896
A skeleton with muscles, Cat., p. 8, No. 4. Rec’d Aug 7, 1896
A larynx phantom, “ “ 43, “ 96. Received Mch 16/96
A preparation showing circulation of foetus, in a material not affected by heat. For this last preparation the Museum will ask for free entry, as soon as notified by you of shipment. Received Sept 11/96

Very respectfully,

D.L. Huntington
Deputy Surgeon General, U.S. Army,
In charge of Museum and Library Division

Letter of the Day: February 27

Read Colonel C. L. Heizmann's endorsement from February 23

Curatorial Records: Numbered Correspondence 08162

War Department,
Office of the Surgeon General,
Washington

February 27, 1904

Brig. Gen. R. M. O'Reilly,
Surgeon General, U.S. Army,
Washington, D.C.

General:

I have the honor to state in reply to endorsement of Colonel C. L. Heizmann, Assistant Surgeon General, U.S. Army, of February ___, 1905, reporting the fact of my absence from office and the cause, a copy of which has been furnished me, while his report as to the cause of my absence may be substantially correct, according to his information, I beg to mention in the same connection that I have been a great sufferer for a long time from catarrh and have been until about the 15th of February last under treatment of a specialist who gave me powders in which I found almost instant relief from pain, but my general health had been such that I consulted a physician, a friend, who came to my room, examined the powders I had been taking and destroyed them at once telling me that I had been taking poison, which accounted for my peculiar appearance and actions he had noticed, and from the effect of which drug it had taken me a long time to recover. I have only within the last week come to realize my condition and taken steps to commence life over again, as it were, by taking the pledge which I have never done before, and feel, after many years of honorable service, if given the opportunity, instead of being dismissed for drinking and disgraced

[Page two]

Gen. O’Reilly……………2.

for all time to come as my action my perhaps deserve, no one will ever again have cause to find fault with me, and of this I am confident.

Asking you kind consideration of my case for the sake of those dependent upon me as well as for my own sake, so far as consistent with your official duties,

I have the honor to be, sir,

Your obedient servant,
P. M. Kelly
Clerk, Class I.

Dental Corps anniversary exhibit

Letter of the Day: February 26

Curatorial Records: Numbered Correspondence 07341

War Department,
Office of the Surgeon General,
Army Medical Museum and Library,
Washington

February 26, 1904

Messrs Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co
Paternoster House,
Charing Cross Road,
London, England

Gentlemen:

Please purchase for this Museum of Ross, Limited, 111 New Bond St. London, W., the following microscope, described on p. 23 of their booklet catalogue, viz:

No. 1 Standard Microscope complete with circular, centering and revolving detachable Mechanical Stage 4 3/4 ins. diameter, swing down Abbe Condenser 1.40 N.A., with centering screws, swing out Iris Diaphragm, with electrical revolving movement, rack and pinon substage, course and fine adjustments as previously described, rack and pinon to draw tube, 3 Eyepieces, 2/3 in., 1/6 in., and 1/12 in. Oil Immersion Objectives, Triple German-silver Nosepiece in mahogany case complete.

Have the instruments carefully packed, and receive, pay for, and forward to this Museum, with separate bill, in the usual manner.

Very respectfully,
C.L. Heizmann
Col. Asst. Surgeon General, U.S.A.
In charge of Museum & Library Division

A Chronology of Medical Museum names

1862 Army Medical Museum (cf Henry, The Armed Forces Institute of Pathology: Its First Century, p. 11)

1883 Army Medical Museum & Library Division of the Surgeon General’s Office (cf Henry, p. 79; a Deputy Surgeon General is appointed in charge of the Division, but a curator remains in charge of the Museum)

1946 Army Institute of Pathology established; AMM becomes department thereof (cf Henry, p. 266)

1949 Armed Forces Institute of Pathology established; AMM presumably becomes Medical Museum of the AFIP (cf Henry, p. 284-5)

1974 Armed Forces Medical Museum (cf AFIP Annual Report, p. 11; “When the Institute was reorganized in August, a reorganization of the Medical Museum was also effected, creating a Museum Support Services in addition to the existing staff elements. At the same time the name of the Museum was changed to Armed Forces Medical Museum.”)

1988 National Museum of Health and Medicine (cf AFIP Annual Report, p. 150; “In December, the AFIP Board of Governors officially changed the designation of the museum from the “Medical Museum of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology” to the “National Museum of Health and Medicine of the AFIP.”)

Reminder about Museum closing and moving

Due to BRAC, the Museum will be moving in 2011 along with all of the rest of Walter Reed medical center. The exhibit floor will close this spring. Researcher access to collections will end this spring, as we begin packing the collections for the move which will take place over the summer. There will be no access for research at least through September 2011 and possibly longer. A new Museum building is being constructed at the former Walter Reed annex in Forest Glen, MD.

 

Letter of the Day: February 25

War Department,
Surgeon General's Office,
U.S. Army Medical Museum and Library,
Corner of 7th and B Streets SW.,

February 25, 1902

Dr. Wm. C. Mitchell
608 California Building
Denver, Col.

My Dear Doctor:

Replying to your letter of the 22nd inst. I regret to say that I have no culture of Xerosis bacillus (Neisser), nor do I know just where you can obtain a culture, but I would suggest that you address a letter to Dr. A.C. Abbott, University of Pennsylvania, either of whom would be more apt to have a culture of this organism than anyone else in the country, I think. Regretting that my letter should be so unsatisfactory,

Sincerely yours,
Walter Reed
Major & Surgeon, U.S. Army

Letter of the Day: February 24

Curatorial Records: Numbered Correspondence 02047

February 24, 1897

Captain W. C. Gorgas,
Assistant Surgeon, U.S. Army,
Fort Barrancas, Florida.

Dear Doctor:

The very small fragment of warty growth from beneath the tongue of Commissary Sergeant Kieffer, has been received and examined microscopically. While a larger piece of the tumor would have enabled us to arrive at a more positive conclusion, I feel quite safe in saying that the microscopical structure of the aforesaid small fragment is that of a mixed cell sarcoma having a dense fibrous capsule.

A slide containing two or three small sections is sent to you by this mail.

Very sincerely,
Walter Reed
Surgeon, U.S. Army,
Curator

Rediscovered photographs

Today I've been stabilizing and doing some research in the Crynes Collection (OHA 143.02). This collection documents the life, and particularly the military career, of Major Sylvester F. Crynes MC, a pathologist with the 217th General Hospital during WWII.

Before donating his papers, Major Crynes' family digitized 400 35mm slide from his time in northern France during WWII. They are uniquely beautiful and I wish I could post them all, but I'll settle for a just a handful.

Letter of the Day: February 23

Curatorial Records: Numbered Correspondence 08162

War Department,
Office of the Surgeon General,
Army Medical Museum and Library,
Washington

February 23, 1905

To the Surgeon General,
U.S. Army

Sir:

Referred to your endorsement of the 14th inst. I have the honor to inform you that my letter of the 9th inst. recommending the discharge of Patrick M. Kelly, Clerk, Class I, in this office, was based upon the following facts:

1st. Mr. Kelly came to this office on the morning of November 19, 1904 in an intoxicated condition, was totally incapacitated for work, and I sent him home. He remained absent until December 10, 1904, and upon his return was forgiven on his promise that the same condition would not occur again.

2nd. On the morning of February 6, 1905, Mr. Kelly reported for duty in a state of intoxication. He was again sent home and has been absent ever since that time.

Very respectfully,
C.L. Heizmann
Col. Asst. Surgeon General, U.S.A.
In charge of Museum and Library Division

Witnesses:
Col. C.L. Heizmann, Asst. Surg. Genl. U.S.A.
M.W. Bayliss, Clerk, Class IV, S.G.O.
Convis Parker, Asst. Mess., &Supt. Building

WISH I THOUGHT OF THAT ONE

Letter of the Day: February 22

Fort Columbus, N.Y.
Feb. 22, 1895

Hoff, John Van R.
Maj. and Surgeon, U.S.A
Post Surgeon

Reports that 1st Lieut. Fremont P. Peck, Ordnance Dep't., U.S.A. was fatally injured at the Ordnance Proving Grounds, Sandy Hook, N.J., Feb 19, 1895, by the explosion of a 4 7/10 inch Hotchkiss Rapid fire gun which he was then testing, furnished an account of accident, and autopsy and states that he forwarded, by mail, to the Army Medical Museum the pieces of metal removed from Lieut. Peck's body.

New book on craniology collectors is out

The Skull Collectors: Race, Science, and America's Unburied Dead
By Ann Fabian
University Of Chicago Press (October 15, 2010)

Judging from Amazon's Look-Inside feature,while the Army Medical Museum is discussed regularly, the author did not actually use the Museum's archives, instead working from the Surgeon General's Office records in the National Archives, and correspondence transferred to the Smithsonian's National Anthropological Archives.

Available in the Museum's archives are Curatorial Records which cover the subject especially

OHA 13

* Curatorial Records: Incoming Correspondence (Loose), 1862-1894
* 2.5 cubic feet, 5 boxes.
* Finding aid, arranged, inactive, unrestricted.
* Correspondence, arranged alphabetically, from the first two decades of the Museum's existence. The series ends when the Museum began a correspondence numbering system (see Curatorial Records: Numbered Correspondence). Includes letters sent to curators John Brinton, George A. Otis, D.L. Huntington, John S. Billings, and Walter Reed. Most of the incoming correspondence from this period is currently missing.

OHA 15

* Curatorial Records: Letterbooks of the Curators, 1863-1910
* 8 cubic feet, 17 boxes.
* Finding aid, arranged, inactive, unrestricted.
* Bound volumes of outgoing correspondence by curators John Brinton, George A. Otis, D.L. Huntington, John S. Billings, Walter Reed, James Carroll, and F.F. Russell. See Curatorial Records: Outgoing Correspondence (Loose) for other outgoing correspondence that was not recorded in these books.

OHA 25

* Curatorial Records: Smithsonian Correspondence, 1867-1887
* .5 cubic foot, 1 box.
* Finding aid available, arranged, inactive, unrestricted.
* Incoming correspondence, mostly from Smithsonian Secretaries Joseph Henry and Spencer Baird, relating primarily to the exchange of specimens between the Museum and the Smithsonian. George A. Otis, D.L. Huntington, and John S. Billings were curators of the Museum during this time. See Museum Records: Accession Records and Curatorial Records: Letterbooks of the Curators for related correspondence.

OHA 26

* Curatorial Records: Special Correspondence, 1862-1887
* .75 cubic foot, 2 boxes.
* No finding aid, arranged, inactive, unrestricted.
* Box 1: Correspondence relating to photography and photographic services at the Museum between 1862 and 1885. Includes correspondence of curators George A. Otis, D.L. Huntington, and John S. Billings and Surgeon General Joseph K. Barnes. Box 2: Correspondence relating to the craniology collection and craniometric/anthropometric measurement at the Museum between 1862 and 1887, mostly sent to curators Otis and Billings.

Letter of the Day: February 21

Curatorial Records: Numbered Correspondence 08159

War Department,
Office of the Surgeon General,
Army medical Museum and Library,
Washington

February 21, 1905

To the Surgeon General,
U.S. Army

Sir:

I have the honor to invite attention to the recent occurrence of two leaks in the ceiling of room 7 on the 3d floor of this building. These result from some obstruction to the carrying off of melted snow from the roof of the attic. The evil should be remedied at once, if possible, in order to prevent the occurrence of serious damage to the building in the future.

Very respectfully,
C.L. Heizmann
Col. Asst. Surgeon General, U.S.A.
In charge of Museum and Library Division

Letter of the Day: February 20

U.S.A. General Hospital,
Davids’ Island, New York,
Feb 20th, 1863.

General,

I send by today’s mail the histories of all the interesting surgical cases that I have been able to collect since the establishment of this Hospital, the preparation of which I undertook at the request of Surg. Simons, U.S.A. The morbid specimens accompanying the cases are few in number, owing to the fact that the man, who formerly had charge of the dead house, stole the majority of then, when he was discharged from the Hospital. Means were taken to have the man arrested, but they proved unavailing. Prof. James R. Wood, however, has some of these specimens in his museum, and I have written to him regard to them, but have received no answer. The box containing the remainder of the preparations will be expressed to you on Monday inst.

I am, General, very respectfully,
Your obedient servant,
S.W. Gross,
Surgn U.S.V.

Brig Genl. W.A. Hammond,
Surgeon General, U.S. Army

92 1046
94 1047
279 1048

Letter of the Day: February 19

Genl. Field Hospital, Bridgeport, Ala, February 19, 1864

Surgeon General U.S.A.
Washington, D.C.

Sir

I have the honor to report that I have sent today to the Army Medical Museum by Adams Express two (2) morbid specimens with histories.

Very respectfully
your obedient servant
H.T. Agler
Asst. Surgeon U.S.V.

Letter of the Day: February 18

Fort Bridger Wyo.
February 18. [18]84.

To
Major D.L. Huntington.
Washington, D.C.

Dear Sir:

I have this day mailed to you a microscopic specimen of some epidermas[sic] scales in a case I have diagnosed as chromophytosis.

This specimen was prepared after one application of chrysophanic acid and green soap according to Piffard in Wood's Library. I sought for the parasite withe[?] a 1/4 objective before any applications were made, but was unable to satisfy myself of its presence.

I regret that it did not occur to me to mount a slide before treatment was commenced. The slide is poorly mounted but represents the earliest specimen prepared.

To all appearances the disease which has existed since 1878 has entirely disappeared after five or six applications of the above treatment.

Will you have the kindness to forward me the results of your examination.

Very respectfully
Your obdt servt.
W.C. Shannon
Asst Surgeon, U.S.A
Post Surgeon

Folger Shakespeare Library's medical exhibit tour tomorrow

I saw this a couple of nights ago and it's an excellent exhibit. This bit is clipped from their e-newsletter.

Good for What Ails You Folger Exhibitions: Beyond Home Remedy   In an era before emergency rooms and HMOs, women offered vital medical care to their families and communities. This "kitchen physic" included dressing wounds, setting bones, delivering babies, administering medicine, and producing homemade remedies for a wide range of illnesses, including the much-dreaded plague. Beyond Home Remedy explores the broad scope of female medical practice in early modern England and America and sheds new light on women's contributions. through May 14 10am to 5pm, Monday–Saturday   Free Listen: Kitchen Physic Learn More: Plague Water Learn More: A Tudor Herbal     Personal Picks Folger Fridays: Exhibition Tour   Join Rebecca Laroche, curator of Beyond Home Remedy, for a personal tour of the exhibition, which features a broad range of items from ingredient samples for early modern medicines to Martha Washington's cookbook. "The exhibition cracks open our conventional sense of home remedies. We have countesses and duchesses and the serving women and everyone in between," she notes. Fri, Feb 18 7pm Meet at the First Folio display in the Great Hall.   Free About the Folger Home to the world's largest Shakespeare collection, the Folger Shakespeare Library is a major center for scholarly research; a lively venue for performances, readings, and exhibitions; and a national leader in humanities education.

Address: Folger Shakespeare Library 201 East Capitol Street, SE Washington, DC 20003 Get Directions Plan a Visit Public Hours: Monday through Saturday: 10am to 5pm Reading Room Hours: Monday through Friday: 8:45am to 4:45pm Saturday: 9am to 12pm and 1pm to 4:30pm Closed all Federal holidays.

Exhibit update. A single cell

(for those who haven't seen the exhibit, this is updated with new text written by the Human Developmental Anatomy Center staff, one of whom can be seen here).

NMHM joins History of Medicine Finding Aids Consortium

The History of Medicine Division of the National Library of Medicine (NLM) is pleased to announce the latest release of its History of Medicine Finding Aids Consortium (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/consortium/index.html), a search-and-discovery tool for archival resources in the health sciences that are described by finding aids and held by various institutions throughout the United States. As with the initial release the new content crawled consists of finding aids delivered as EAD, PDF and HTML from a diverse institutional cohort. NLM is the world’s largest medical library and a component of the National Institutes of Health.

 

The site now indexes over 1,600 finding aids from 12 institutions.

 

The new content contributors are:

• Drexel University College of Medicine Legacy Center, Archives and Special Collections
• Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Center for the History of Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Boston Medical Library
• Otis Historical Archives, National Museum of Health and Medicine
• University of Pennsylvania Barbara Bates Center for the Study of the History of Nursing
• Washington University, St. Louis School of Medicine
• Yale University Library, Cushing/Whitney Medical Library

 

These institutions join the original consortium members:

• NLM History of Medicine Division
• Columbia University Health Sciences Library
• Medical Archives, Johns-Hopkins University Medical Institutions
• University of California-San Francisco
• University of Virginia Health Sciences Library
• Virginia Commonwealth University

 

For more information about the project or requests to join the Consortium, please contact John P. Rees, Archivist and Digital Resources Manager, NLM, at reesj@nlm.nih.gov.

 

 

Exhibit update. A single cell

So this is actually 2 years in the making 

it started as an concept to update the current exhibit

with some relevant current research on this old dusty

section of out of date cases cursed with this hospital blue 

color

i wind up using that to inspire a color pallette

its really a section of curiosities we have at the museum. 

skeletons, conjoined twins, cyclops baby and so

these specimens could and did serve as this section
of human dev anatomy

called a single cell...

but 

there was not much info, label text, which was fine, but no supporting

information, one of my colleagues, Emily Wilson, an anthropologist in the

human developmental anatomy section had a great research topic

that dealt with the limb development, and also co wrote other areas of the exhibit, these panels
contain her

research which I believe was presented at last years Mayo Clinics Symposium.

Congratulatons to her on a great job. Here Ms. Wilson (pictured below) is preparing
the specimens for redisplay in the exhibit.
hopefully
this redesign can elevate this exhibit to another level.
More to come...

Exhibit update. A single cell

Exhibit update a single cell

Today's Flickr photos have a common piece to them.

Besides being part of the New Contributed Photograph collection, there’s something in common with most of the pictures being sent up to our Flickr site today. Can you spot it?

Letter of the Day: February 17

Fort Shaw, M.T.

February 17^th 1868.

 

Sir;

 

I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your communication dated M.D.A. Dep’t of Dakota January 22d, 1868 stating it is the wish of the Surgeon General to secure for preservation in the army medical museum specimens of Indian Crania and Indian weapons and utensils as far as they can be procured of the different Indian Tribes; and giving directions ho these specimens are to be collected and forwarded +c.

 

In reference to which I would respectfully state that I shall willing lend my aid as far as possible in collecting specimens from the different Indian Tribes in this Territory.

 

There are no Indians residing within a radius of forty or fifty miles of this Post, the Sun River country being looked upon as neutral ground. Occasional parties of Bloods, Piegans, Pend D’Oreilles, Black Feet and other Tribes on hunting or horse stealing expeditions transverse this section of country but make no delay en route and seldom visit this Post. Nevertheless I shall not fail to avail myself of any means of communication with these Tribes with a view to secure specimens.

 

Actg. Asst. Surgeon Hitz has been furnished with an official copy of your communication and expresses his willingness to cooperate in securing these specimens.

 

Very Respectfully

Your ob’t. Servant

 

F.L. Town

Bre’t Lieut. Col. + Surgeon, U.S.A.

 

Surgeon Jno. E. Summers U.S.A.

Medical Director, Dept. of Dakota

St. Paul, Minn.

Yellow Fever and Walter Reed

This is the text for an exhibit at the Pentagon I did about two decades ago...

Yellow Fever and Walter Reed

Yellow fever is caused by a virus transmitted by a mosquito. This disease has menaced communities since before the founding of the United States. Yellow fever was first described by Joam Ferreyra Da Rosa in 1694. The origin of the term "yellow fever", however, is obscure. Some feel the name reflects the symptoms since the virus destroys liver cells and causes jaundice which is a yellowing of the skin and eyes. Others feel that the name refers to the yellow quarantine flag flown by ships carrying the disease, especially since the fever apparently travelled from Africa on slave ships which were notorious carriers of the fever.

Yellow fever has a wide variety of symptoms including headaches, backaches, nausea and fever. The most disturbing symptom is bloody vomiting which gave the disease the vivid name of "the black vomit". The disease has a fatality rate between 10 and 15% but is less virulent in children. Currently, the disease is incurable and attentive nursing and rest are the only treatments.

Walter Reed was born in Virginia in 1851. In 1869, Reed graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in medicine and studied at Bellevue Medical Hospital in New York. He joined the Army Medical Corps in 1875 and spent most of the next two decades at frontier posts. In 1893, Reed began serving as curator of the Army Medical Museum and professor of bacteriology and clinical microscopy at the Army Medical School. As part of the Surgeon General's Office staff in Washington, Reed was assigned to investigate typhoid fever in 1898 and then yellow fever a year later.

Reed was the first man to prove the mechanics of infection of yellow fever. Prior to his work, several novel ideas had been considered.

For instance, Benjamin Rush, the noted Philadelphia physician, believed the disease was caused by rotten coffee. Others held that "miasmas" or bad airs were the cause. However, throughout the century, glimpses of the true means of transmission had been noted. In 188 Dr. Josiah C. Nott of Alabama suggested that mosquitoes might be the vector or carrier of the disease. Carlos Juan Finlay of Cuba strongly advanced this idea although current theory held that "fomites" or household articles were somehow infected with the disease.

In 1899 during the wake of the Spanish-American War, Reed headed a team investigating the cause of yellow fever. The team, composed of Dr. James Carroll (also of the Army Medical Museum), Dr. Aristides Agramonte and Dr. Jesse Lazear, convened at Columbia Barracks near Havana, Cuba. Their first accomplishment was to quickly rule out a recently-proposed bacterial theory. Then, using volunteers, the team tested the fomite theory with articles fouled with the effusions from yellow fever victims. This theory, too, was proven wrong. After a prison outbreak when one prisoner was infected and died but the eight other prisoners were not infected, researchers could not suggest a method of transmission other than mosquitoes. Finlay had provided mosquitoes for testing and Dr. Lazear began experiments with them. By having a mosquito bite them, Lazear successfully infected Dr. Carroll and a volunteer soldier named Dean in August. Lazear may have been testing his theory on himself for he was infected and died on September 25, 1900. Lazear's notebooks enabled Reed to study the data Lazear compiled. Reed realized that the Aedes aegypti mosquito carried yellow fever but only under certain conditions. The mosquito must bite a yellow fever victim during the first three days of an attack, incubate the virus in its body for at least twelve days and then bite another person to pass on the disease. This discovery enabled the United States to essentially eradicate yellow fever within its borders after one last epidemic in New Orleans in 1905. The disease proved easy to conquer because the Aedes aegypti mosquito is an urban mosquito and breeds only in small pools of stagnant water such as fish ponds or even flower jars. Yellow fever is still prevalent in tropical climes due to both a different mosquito vector, the Haemagogus spegazzinii and the fact that jungle yellow fever, as it is occasionally known, can live in monkeys as well as human hosts.

Object List:

Two Reed medals (M-900 00682, ASTM medal; M-900 00683, Congressional medal) Text: Medals awarded to Walter Reed for his work on yellow fever by Congress and the American Society of Tropical Medicine. M-900 00683; M-900 00682.



Photo of Reed at 25 (NCP 876 Text: Reed at age 25. NCP #876



Sontag volunteers photo. Text: Soldiers who volunteered for yellow fever experiments. Sontag Collection.

Reed microscope (M-030 00420) Text: Microscope used by Reed. M-030 00420.

Mosquito drawing

Link Love from the Medical Heritage Library

NMHM, NCP 3280

For those of you who haven't heard, the Medical Heritage Library is a collaborative, digital curation project among some of the leading medical libraries, National Library of Medicine, The Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine (Harvard), The Cushing/Whitney Medical Library (Yale), The Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library (Columbia), and the New York Public Library. They "promote free and open access to quality historical resources in medicine."

A friend and colleague of mine works for the team at the MHL and we chat often about the unique world of medical archives. She gave us a shout-out today on their blog: Digital Connections: The Otis Historical Archives, highlighting some of her favorite images from the NMHM flickr site.

Letter of the Day: February 16

Curatorial Records: Numbered Correspondence 07315

War Department,
Office of the Surgeon General,
Army medical Museum and Library,
Washington

ARMY MEDICAL SCHOOL

February 16, 1904

To the Surgeon General,
U.S. Army

Sir:

I have the honor to request that two (2) hospital blankets be furnished for use in the X-ray room of the Army Medical School, to protect X-ray subjects against the cold atmosphere of the room.

Very respectfully,
C.L. Heizmann
Col. Asst. Surgeon General, U.S.A.
In charge of Museum and Library Division

Letter of the Day: February 15

Curatorial Records: Numbered Correspondence 05770

War Department
Surgeon General's Office,
U.S. Army Medical Museum and Library
Corner of 7th and B Streets SW
Washington,

February 15, 1902

Messers Eimer & Amend,
205-211 Third Ave.,
New York, N.Y.

Gentlemen:

Please forward at your earliest convenience, with bill, a "Complete Haemocytometer Set" of Dr. Oliver, referred to on page 31 of you pamphlet, "The Tintometer".

I hope you have received the Oliver's Haemoglobinometer set ion case returned to you on the 7th inst. for examination and repair, and that you will be able to return it at an early date.

Very respectfully,
Water Reed
Major & Surgeon, U.S. Army

Michelle and Megan

Hi guys! A lot has happened since we last posted on this site. We have been at the warehouse, and labeled jars and packaged dental models in preparation of HDACs new location. We also completed our research on eye development and eye anomalies. This past weekend, NMHM hosted a Valentine's Day program, which included a scavenger hunt, a lot of arts and crafts, and a heart dissection. It was very fun and everyone who came seemed to have had a great time! Currently, we're learning how to use NetObjects in order to create web pages. It's very interesting. We are about to start 3D modeling, which we are extremely excited about.

Letter of the Day: February 14

Cincinnati, Ohio
Feby 14th 1864

Sir:

After the Battle of Chickamauga and Mission Ridge [sic, Missionary Ridge] I collected quite an interesting number of osseus specimens intending to for[war]d them to Washington as soon as my report was ready to accompany them, but my regiment having reenlisted I sent them to this place intending to label them and send my report with them as I would have ample time to do so while here.

This however I understand has been frustrated by, the maliciousness of one of the Sanitary Com- Gentlemen who telegraphed to Nashville to have the box stopped. Amongst the specimens was a case-knife which had been driven thro [sic] the trochanter of a friend of his by a canister shot, which he wished to obtain for himself, this I refused him, hence his actions. I expended a great deal of labor on these specimens and would like to have has the opportunity of giving the history of them.

I understand the box has been sent to the Museum and if so if you will send them to me by Express I will label them properly and return them. If the have not reached you I will endeavor to trace them out.

The box was labeled Rev. Wm Hally, Cin'ti, Ohio who was the agent of Sanitary [Ohio] and a friend of mine.

Very respectfully
You Obt Sevt
A. McMahon
Surgeon 64th O[hio].V[olunteer].I[nfantry]

Surg. Brinton, U.S.A.
Washington,
D.C.

Der Mensch als Industriepalast. Reminds me of the David Macaulay exhibit

Letter of the Day: February 13

Curatorial Records: Numbered Correspondence 07319

War Department,
Office of the Surgeon General,
Army medical Museum and Library,
Washington

February 13, 1904

Capt. Harry M. Hallock
Asst. Surgeon, U.S. Army,
Fort Porter, N.Y.

Sir:

I have read with great interest your report of the finding of Taenia nana in your command and beg to congratulate you upon your painstaking work. You are almost the first in this country, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture is about to issue a bulletin upon the subject, reporting five cases at the Government Insane Asylum. Perhaps you have a paper prepared for publication in one of the journals; I hope so because I would like to see you gain precedence.

I write especially to ask if you will do me the favor to send me some materials containing the ova for demonstration at the Army Medical school? If you could send me a significant number of worms to give each member of the class a specimen they would be greatly appreciated. I trust you may be able to send me some ova at least. May I suggest that you try to obtain them by washing the stool several times in a large quantity of water, pouring off the supernatant portion and retaining the sediment? In this way most of the fecal matter will be poured off while the worms and ova will sink to the bottom. Then preserve them in equal parts glycerine [sic], alcohol, and water.

Yours very truly,
James Carroll
1st Lieut. Asst. Surgeon, U.S.A.
Curator, Army Medical Museum.

Letter of the Day: February 12

Curatorial Records: Numbered Correspondence 02038

February 12, 1897

Dr. E.T. Duke,
Cumberland, Md.

Dear Sir:

Referring to your letter of February 11th, I beg to state that the work of this department is confined to the bacteriological and pathological study of the tissues of the body, and hence, regret to say that this office cannot furnish the therapeutic advice called for.

Very respectfully,
Walter Reed
Surgeon, U.S. Army,
Curator

The Met's following in our footsteps

Ok, maybe not, but this is an interesting article about Museums and technology.

 

February 11, 2011

The Met’s Virtual Expansion Plans

By RANDY KENNEDY

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/12/arts/design/12campbell.html

 

Dart Scrapbook finding aid now online

Archives intern Sara Gonzales has written a finding aid for the recent donation of a scrapbook owned by AFIP director Raymond Dart.

http://www.nmhm.washingtondc.museum/collections/archives/asearch/afinding_aids/dart/dart_scrapbook.html

Letter of the Day: February 11

Curatorial Records: Numbered Correspondence 02038

E.T. Duke, M.D.
Cumberland, Md.

Cumberland Md
Feb 11th 1897

Major Walter Reed U.S.A.
Washington, D.C.

My dear Doctor

Presuming on your kindness extended to me in Washington two years ago, I write to ask you about a case in my practice which I thought you could help me with. My patient sustained a gunshot wound of the right knee, at a very close range. The tissues were severely lacerated, and for a considerable space above the knee-joint the skin was burned with powder. The injury to the knee has done well after two months treatment, but the burned area refuses to heal. Thinking your experience in the Army might give me some light on the case I take the liberty of addressing you.

Respectfully yours,
E. T. Duke

Today's most popular photo on our Flickr page?

This picture which was put up almost 2 years ago has gotten about 700 hits today, or about 1/3 of its 'lifetime' views. What gives?

Letter of the Day: February 10

Curatorial Records: Numbered Correspondence 5759

War Department
Surgeon General's Office,
U.S. Army Medical Museum and Library
Corner of 7th and B Streets SW
Washington, February 10, 1902

MR. CHARLES GAOLON & FILS,
39 Rue Madame
Paris, France

Dear Sir:

Please purchase for this Museum of A. Montaudon, 56 Rue de Vaugirard, Paris, the following anatomical preparations referred to in "Classic Anatomy of Dr. Auzoux, p.16.

No. 69. - brain of chimpanzee
No.77. - brain of horse.

Please see that they are properly packed and receive, pay for and forward them to this Museum with separate bill in the usual manner.

Very respectfully,
Calvin DeWitt
Col. & Asst. Surgeon General, U.S.A.
In charge of Museum & Library Division.

19th century medical photographs with mirrors

Øystein Horgmo has written an interesting blog post about pictures from the Museum at "Mirror of the Body": http://sterileeye.com/2011/02/08/mirror-of-the-body/

Until he asked about these types of photographs, my eye had glided over them.

Today's new collection

Material is flowing into the Museum as the AFIP and Walter Reed both prepare to close. Today we collected 54 boxes, or 184 bound volumes of Walter Reed General Hospital Autopsies (2011.0005, OHA 354.7) which date from 1917 through 1965. That presumably covers 4 wars – World War 1, World War 2, Korea and Vietnam.

Letter of the Day: February 9

Curatorial Records: Numbered Correspondence 03681

War Department,
Surgeon General’s Office
U.S. Army Medical Museum and Library
Corner of 7th and B Streets SW
Washington

February 9, 1899.

COL. CHAS. SMART,
Deputy Surgeon General, U.S.A.
Washington, D.C.

Sir:

I have the honor to inform you that the bacteriological examination of 2 cans of roast beef (Wilson & Co. & Armour & Co.), which were opened in your presences in this Laboratory on the afternoon of January 30, shows that the contents of both were sterile. No growth has occurred on any of the plates made therefrom.

Very respectfully,
Walter Reed,
Major & Surgeon, U.S.A.
Curator.

Letter of the Day: February 8

Curatorial Records: Numbered Correspondence 09196


War Department,
Office of the Surgeon General,
Army Medical Museum and Library,
Washington

February 8, 1906

Prof. Wm Gary Calkins,
Department of Biology, Columbia University,
New York City

Dear Doctor Calkins:
I am sending you, by mail, to-day, a specimen of Taenia nana as I promised. These birds are so scarce that I cannot send you more than one, as I have only about a half dozen in all. I do not recall whether I promised you anything else or not; if I did kindly let me know and I will see that you get it.

With kind regards, I am,

Yours very truly,
James Carroll
1st Lieut., Asst. Surgeon, U.S.A.
Curator, Army Medical Museum