Three words: "Belly button escargot"

Without further comment, I offer this link: "Tales from Saint Boonie's: Gross, and I mean GROSS, Anatomy."

He had me at "I apologize in advance..."

If you look carefully, you'll see something familiar to this blog's readers and our visitors. Once you spot it, leave your answer in comments. First person (not on the staff or former staff!) to guess correctly gets the best reward of all: my sincere gratitude for reading all the way through this post.

All the good headlines were taken

I had seen this previously, but after seeing more links to gummi bear anatomy today, I figured I'd better post it here, too. Besides, we're the ones who spent some quality time looking for radiographs of a gummi bear bezoar. Come on, admit it, now you want to know more, right?

And yes, I am probably giving away a slice of my blog reading habits by linking to those two blogs above, but for gummi bear anatomy, it's worth it.

Our West Coast Connection

Our recently-departed public affairs specialist Nicole M. has landed out west - in San Francisco, California. We heard from her today, that she's settling in at the San Francisco Airport Museums. No, I hadn't heard of it either (but some people haven't heard of us either) but take a look for yourself, and next time you are passing through SFO, pause for a moment to enjoy the view. And, hi, Nicole, stay in touch and good luck.

Enjoy.

Upcoming lunchtime lectures this month at NMHM

SAVE THE DATES: Two exciting lunchtime lectures at the National Museum
of Health and Medicine this month!

On Thursday, June 19 at noon, AFIP pathologist Wayne Meyers, M.D. will
discuss the history of leprosy in America.

Then, on Thursday, June 26 at noon, James L. Krahenbuhl, Ph.D., director
of the federal National Hansen's Disease (Leprosy) Program will offer a
talk about the need for a greater awareness about leprosy in the U.S.

Both lectures are free and will take place in Russell Auditorium at
NMHM. After the talks, take advantage of the opportunity to visit our
temporary exhibition, "Triumph at Carville: A Tale of Leprosy in
America."

Here are the details:

What: Lecture by pathologist Wayne M. Meyers, M.D., Ph.D., Armed Forces
Institute of Pathology
When: Thursday, June 19, 2008; 12:00-1:00 p.m.
Where: Russell Auditorium at NMHM (on Walter Reed Army Medical Center,
Building 54)
Cost: Free! Bring a bag lunch.


What: Learn the 113-year history of the "national leprosarium" and the
need for an awareness of leprosy in the U.S. medical community, with
James L. Krahenbuhl, Ph.D., director of the federal National Hansen's
Disease (Leprosy) Program
When: Thursday, June 26, 2008; 12:00-1:00 p.m.
Where: Russell Auditorium at NMHM (on Walter Reed Army Medical Center,
Building 54)
Cost: Free! Bring a bag lunch.

Museum Address: 6900 Georgia Avenue, NW, Building 54, Washington, DC,
20307. (Photo identification required.) Free parking is available.

Contact: (202) 782-2200 or http://www.nmhm.washingtondc.museum

Army School of Nursing Annuals now on Internet Archive

Kathleen got the rest of them up over the past two days:

The Annual
1921 http://www.archive.org/details/ArmyNursingAnnual1921
1923 http://www.archive.org/details/ArmyNursingAnnual1923
1925 http://www.archive.org/details/ArmyNursingAnnual1925
1926 http://www.archive.org/details/ArmyNursingAnnual1926
1927 http://www.archive.org/details/ArmyNursingAnnual1927

Taps
1929 http://www.archive.org/details/ArmyNursingAnnual1929
1930 http://www.archive.org/details/ArmyNursingAnnual1930
1931 http://www.archive.org/details/ArmyNursingAnnual1931

1923 Army Nursing Annual now online

1923 Army Nursing Annual now online at the Internet Archive. We have all of these but one and we've scanned them all for posting.

1921 Army Nursing School Annual online

We've loaded a 1921 Army Nursing School Annual up to Internet Archive. These schools were based in Washington at Walter Reed and in California. More to come!

Yet another new Flickr page

While we're waitingwaitingwaiting for Flickr to grant us a Creative Commons account, we've filled our third account and have started a fourth. Please take a look - the five pictures now residing there are feeling a little lonely.

Cool Flickr site

Virginia Commonwealth University's Tompkins-McCaw Library Special Collections' photostream - a mixture of photographs, artifacts and scans from books. They linked to one of our flickr sites last week. I liked the editorial cartoons, but the photographs of medical school dissections probably get more viewers.

Free Health Fair at the National Museum of Health and Medicine!

Free Health Fair at the National Museum of Health and Medicine!

Saturday, June 7, 2008 -- 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Tell your friends! Tell your family! Children's activities, too!
Explore the Museum and take advantage of free health screenings!

Screenings for health indicators: cholesterol, glaucoma, blood sugar, vision, blood pressure, hearing, body mass index

Children's activities, too! Including hands-on experiences with plastinated organs, dolls and mannequins!

Participants: Columbia Heights Lions Club, D.C. Diabetes Prevention and Control Program, D.C. Healthy Families, Food and Friends, Health Pact, Inc., Men's Health Network, National Ovarian Cancer Coalition of Northern Virginia, and Prevention of Blindness Society of Metropolitan Washington

WHERE: National Museum of Health and Medicine, on the campus at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, 6900 Georgia Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20307. (Enter at Georgia Ave. and Elder Street, NW.) (Photo identification required.) NMHM is in Bldg. 54.

WHEN: Saturday, June 7, 2008, 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

CONTACT: On the Web http://www.nmhm.washingtondc.museum or call (202) 782-2200.

NOTE: Free parking, free admission! No reservations required.

National Museum of the Marine Corps

Today I went to the Marine Corps Museum in Quantico, Virginia. It's terrific, with a lot of interactive exhibits (care to lift a pack that a recruit has to carry (that's the pack there, on the right), or listen to drill instructors screaming at you from every direction?) and lifelike combat scenes. Here's one of a Marine being cared for by a corpsman. I thought the look on the wounded Marine's face was perfectly portrayed. What I liked about this one, in addition to the face, is that we have photos just like this in our collection, right down
to the IV bottle suspended from a rifle stuck in the ground bayonet first (just out of view here but you can see the line being inserted in his arm). It's a great museum with free admission, both indoor and outdoor exhibit space, and is open 364 days a year. If you're in the neighborhood, I recommend a visit.

More thoughts on exhibit signage

I've written previously about signs in exhibit spaces like the National Zoo and the New York Historical Society and how, if I were queen of the world, I would do things differently. I'm still on my queen kick after going to the just-fabulous maps exhibit at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore. (It closes on June 8, so hurry yourself to Baltimore.) This is a really good, interesting exhibit of maps brought in from all over the world. They have excellent descriptions of what you're looking at, but many of them are on the front of the cases, hip-high, and in necessarily dim illumination, so you have everyone who wants to read about that map packed in a small space, and certainly not more than one deep. It was easy to identify those of us of a certain age - we were the ones trying to adjust the bifocals to get the right perspective and usually ended up bent over like cranes hunting for fish. Oh, for good spot lighting on a wall.

Thought Control

I read Mike's post down below about Dean Kamen's new prosthetic arm, and it truly is a wonderful invention. If you haven't looked at the video I encourage you to do so. At first I thought this was the same device I saw on TV in Dublin last night (doesn't that sound so cool - I was in Dublin last night, and I'm not talkin' Ohio), but I've just checked the internet and what I saw was different. Their story was about a monkey whose arms were restrained but could use its thoughts to control a robotic arm to bring food to its mouth. Simply amazing to see. Interestingly, the project is being done on this side of the pond by Andrew Schwartz at the University of Pittsburgh. The study was published in the journal Nature.

Friday, May 30 - Museum closed

The museum's closed due to the installation of a new power generator. Also we'll probably be closed on Saturday June 1 as well. Call 202-782-2200 or 2201 after 20 am on both Saturday and Sunday to check the status.

Exhibit Development at the Pentagon

Some of the team made it out to the pentagon this morning to work on possible exhibits for the 

Assistant Secretary of Defense of Health Affairs, look forward having some of our work in the Pentagon, that will help bring some positive attention to the Museum of Health and Medicine.

Check out some of our photos, with some made up quotes, just for kicks. Later Kids.

NC

Dean Kamen designs prosthetic arm for military amputees

Yahoo finance has a three-minute video of Dean Kamen's new prosthetic arm, which looks absolutely amazing. It's just stunning.

Friday, May 30 - Museum closed?

Anyone planning on visiting the Museum on Friday, Saturday or Sunday should call first at 202-782-2200 or 2201 to confirm that it's open. A generator is being replaced starting Friday at noon which will cut power to the whole building.

New Guy at the Museum

Hello Everybody

just wanted to leave a short spot on my first month in the Museum, My name is Navjeet Singh and I am the new guy at the museum, my position is exhibits specialist and I do exhibit development and exhibit design for the museum, I am not new to exhibit design, I have been doing exhibits since 1998 and recently did contract work for the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, the exhibit is Sikh's Legacy of the Punjab, and also have done exhibits for National Museum of the American Indian, Air and Space, National Museum of Women in the Arts, FAA, NOAA, GSA, I recently did an large graphic mural and exhibit for National 4 H in thier headquarters. I attached a short video small size of some exhibit work.(apple quicktime) I have also done other museums and some international shows. In addition I also teach at the Corcoran College of Art and Design and have been adjunct faculty there since 2003, while also teaching at other local colleges and schools....Now I have been at NMHM for about a month, actually its been a month and a half, and have met mostly everyone now and am getting a good feel for what we're all about. I am really enjoying it, and I truly enjoy working with everyone on the staff, some excellent people... so far its alot of work, and much more to do, as most the exhibits need some work, right now I'm working on the RESOLVED exhibit, "Resolved; Advances in Forensic Identification of U.S. War Dead", and have just a few weeks left in putting all the pieces together, We are looking at a July 4th opening date, so only a few weeks left to install, We are doing some fun stuff in this exhibit and hope to treat the visitors to some impressionable exhibits and feel as we are on the right track, I have developed several large murals, and am using different medias / substrates and some very interesting artifacts will be displayed, we have some other ideas to include interactive stations, and I hope that I can put together a short video piece for the exhibit by opening, but also have other exhibits to consider. June will bring the Balad exhibit, and so right now have a full plate, but am really enjoying myself. My office is in an interesting space, for those of you who don't know, I am in the former ballistics range, very interesting indeed, some stories I have heard was they used to shoot cadavers, pigs, bones, tissue in gelatin blocks, and some of that material decorates the celling in my work area. Not sure how much of that is true, but have heard this from staff who were here when they did that. So far I have only done a few things here, National Hairball Awarness was one of the first, I attached a pic, and just the Stroke awareness exhibit, but am hoping to get the museum some attention with RESOLVED. I look forward to keeping you all informed, keep it positive in the end its all about the journey.

Cheers!

NC

British military medicine conference CFP

[this is run by Pete Starling]

SECURING THE ULTIMATE VICTORY П

A conference exploring the history of military medicine and health care

15th -17th April 2009

ARMY MEDICAL SERVICES MUSEUM Mytchett, Surrey

The Army Medical Services Museum is to host a conference exploring the history of military medicine and health care covering the period from 1600 to the present. The conference will take place in the Defence Medical Services Training Centre, Keogh Barracks, Mytchett, Surrey, where the museum is situated.

Papers are invited on the history of military medicine particularly covering the following themes: Nursing, catastrophe and post conflict medicine, veterinary medicine, dentistry, pioneers of military medicine, disease prevention and research, the influence of the military on civilian medicine and the history of dedicated hospitals for the care of the sick and wounded military patients.

Closing date for the submission of abstracts is 1 August 2008. Abstracts should be submitted using the attached form and sent to:

Director

Army Medical Services Museum

Keogh Barracks

Ash Vale

Aldershot

GU12 5RQ

01252 868820 Email: armymedicalmuseum@btinternet.com



SECURING THE ULTIMATE VICTORY П




Title: Full Name:

Name of Institution (if applicable):

Full Postal Address:


Email address: Telephone No:

Title of Abstract:

Bookings for the conference will open on 1 September 2008.

For booking forms please contact:

The Director

AMS Museum, Keogh Barracks, Ash Vale, Aldershot, GU12 5RQ

armymedicalmuseum@btinternet.com

Wash Post on leprosy

Sally Squires and her husband John Wilhelm have done an interesting and touching documentary film "Triumph at Carville: A Tale of Leprosy in America" which can be seen at the Museum with a small exhibit on leprosy (aka Hansen's Disease). Today she had an article in the Post about how the disease is still around, but not as dangerous as it has been in the past. See "A Scary Diagnosis Hits Home When a Tiny Rash Turns Out to Be Leprosy, A Teen and Her Community Learn the Modern Reality of Living With the Biblical Disease," By Sally Squires, Washington Post Staff Writer, Tuesday, May 27, 2008; Page HE01. On June 19th, we'll have d a free lecture on Hansen's disease by Wayne M. Meyers of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology. Dr. Meyers is an expert on the disease, which used to be a major area of research in the AFIP, and we have an oral history with him. Drs. Meyers and Chapman Binford were the main doctors working on it. We have some of Dr. Binford's records:

OHA 114

* Binford Leprosy Material, 1922-1975
* .5 cubic foot, 1 box.
* No finding aid, arranged, inactive, unrestricted.
* Public Health Bulletins, reprints, manuscript articles, journals, and photographs related to leprosy. Includes articles and correspondence by Chapman H. Binford, chief of the AFIP Geographic Pathology department.