Fetus, third trimester. Unable to determine what specimen demonstrates. [Upon request, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology could not provide any corresponding documentation for this case.]
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.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Newly-scanned accession record
Letter of the day, May 6
[#]641
Charges against watchmen in S.G.O.
War Department,
Surgeon General's Office,
Washington, May 6, 1895
Lieut.Colonel J.S. Billings,
Deputy Surgeon General, U.S. Army,
In charge of Museum and Library Division,
Surgeon General's Office, Washington, D.C.
Sir:-
A respectable looking German woman called upon me this morning and stated that she is the wife of Frederick Neujahr, a Watchman at the Army Medical Museum. She complains that her husband neglects to give her any portion of his pay and treats her badly; that he spends his money in dissipation, and that he brings alcohol from the Army Medical Museum to drink at home. She also charges that William McCoy, a Watchman at the Museum, is a drunkard, and that he and Neujahr spend their money at Ruppert's Saloon.
You will please investigate as to the truth of these charges, and if the men referred to are improper persons to be employed in the responsible position of Watchman, they should be discharged.
Very respectfully,
Geo. M. Sternberg
Surgeon General,
U.S. Army
The first follow-up letter:
Army Medical Museum
May 7, 1895
In the matter of complaint against the night watchmen Wm McCoy and Fred. Neujahr I have the honor to report that for the past eight months while I have been on duty as Superintendent of the Museum and Library Building I have known them both as careful and efficient watchmen. Both are punctual in their attendance and I have never seen either of them under the slightest influence of liquor. The woman who lodged the complaint against Mr Neujahr, and who pretends to be his wife, tried to gain admittance to the building at night and was refused by Mr McCoy. She then threatened that she would report him for drunkenness. She called again this morning in company with a man, both being very much under the influence of liquor, and I considered it my duty to request them to leave the building and to tell them that should they persist in their endeavor to gain admittance in their present condition, I should have them arrested.
(sgd) Michael Flynn
The second follow-up:
S.G.O.
Mus and Lib Bldg
May 8, 1895
Sent Col. J.S. Billings
Sir
I enclose the report of Mr Flynn, the superintendent in the matter of complaint against watchmen McCoy and Neujahr. Both have been on duty in this office for over 20 years and no complaint has ever reached me as to drunkenness on the part of either. Mr. Neujahr denies the charge of having taken alcohol. The bulk of this article is kept locked in the store-room, which is not accessible to Mr Neujahr, and on inquiries in the laboratories of Drs Gray and Hodge, where generally a small quantity is kept for immediate use, I learn that they have not missed any. I am informed that the complaining woman has frequently figured in the Police court.
Very Resp.
CJM
Letter of the Day: May 6 - CSI Medical Museum part 4
Curatorial Records: Numbered Correspondence 1463
May 6, 1896
Major W.G. Moore,
Superintendent Metropolitan Police,
Washington, D.C.
Dear Sir:
I beg to return herewith, per Messenger, the package which you left this morning for examination, and to report that in addition to the larger stain on the front of the garment I have been able to find two other stains, both of which gave, under the microscope, blood corpuscles resembling in many respects human blood corpuscles.
Very respectfully,
Walter Reed
Surgeon, U.S. Army
Curator
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Letter of the Day: May 5 - CSI Medical Museum, part 3
Curatorial Records: Numbered Correspondence 1457
Headquarters of the Metropolitan Police,
District of Columbia,
Washington, May 5th 1896
Dr. Walter Reed,
Surgeon, U.S.A.,
Curator U.S. Army Medical Museum and Library,
Washington, D.C.
Dear Sir:-
I beg to make my grateful acknowledgements for your prompt compliance with my request of May 3rd, and to assure you that you will find me willing and ready to serve you whenever it may be in my power to do so.
Very respectfully & obediently yours,
W.G. Moore
Major & Sup’t. Met. Police
Museum Program: "What's Eating You? People and Parasites" Lunchtime Talk, 5/13, 12pm, free!
| SAVE THE DATE! MARK YOUR CALENDARS NOW! | ||
“What’s Eating You? People and Parasites” Lunchtime Talk at Medical Museum, 5/13, 12pm, free! |
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Join the National Museum of Health and Medicine and author Eugene H. Kaplan 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, May 13 for a brown bag lunch featuring a reading and discussion of Kaplan’s book, “What's Eating You?: People and Parasites.” In “What's Eating You” Kaplan recounts the true and harrowing tales of his adventures with parasites, and in the process introduces readers to the intimately interwoven lives of host and parasite. Kaplan will read excerpts from his book; a book signing will follow. Topics will cover leeches attacking soldiers in Vietnam, lice attacking lovers in New Orleans, worms attacking eaters in Israel and what to do when you return from a trip and suspect you have a parasite. Kaplan is the Donald A. Axinn Endowed Distinguished Professor of Ecology and Conservation (emeritus) at Hofstra University. |
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Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Letter of the Day: May 4 - CSI Medical Museum part 2
Curatorial Records: Numbered Correspondence 1457
May 4, 1896
Major W.G. Moore,
Superintendent Metropolitan Police,
Washington, D.C.
Dear Sir:
In accordance with your letter of May 3rd I beg to report that a careful microscopical and chemical examination has been made of the stain on the shoe which was left with me this morning by one of your detectives. The result of these examinations prove that these are not blood stains.
Very respectfully,
Walter Reed
Surgeon, U.S. Army
Curator
Tune in tomorrow for the Police response.
Planner chosen for Walter Reed
The 3-minute interview: James Wood
By: William C. Flook
Examiner Staff Writer
May 4, 2010
Wood, a principal at architectural firm Perkins & Will, discusses the firm's selection as master planner for the 62-acre Walter Reed site. The Army hospital is set to relocate in 2011.
The Fenty administration cited your experience with the Presidio of San Francisco, the site of another Army hospital, as a reason behind your selection. How are the projects similar?
There were two general hospitals in the Army at the turn of the 1900s: Walter Reed and Presidio. ... They both served the same purpose for the Army when they were created. ... Because of that, they have a similar infrastructure in terms of [being] hospitals both created around the same time, both projects centered around a historic hospital complex. Presidio is much larger: 1,400 acres versus 62 acres that we are dealing with.
What are the constraints on how this site can be redeveloped?
There are two primary constraints: One, the historic nature of certain structures on there, and they've got adaptive reuse of those structures. And two, we're helping the city prepare their request for the transfer of that land. And part of that requires [U.S. Housing and Urban Development] looking at this in terms of opportunities for homeless assistance programs.
Do you have a sense of what surrounding neighborhoods want?
We don't yet. We have four community engagement exercises that we're going to go through in this process, actually sit down with the community and understand what the needs of the community are, how they view the existing base and how they view the opportunities on the base to re-engage the community.
Are there early themes emerging for what this site should look like?
One of our project views is the site shouldn't look like anything -- you want to take this site and incorporate it into the urban fabric of the neighborhood. Right now, it's a secure base, it stands out, it's a bump in the middle of the neighborhood.
- William C. Flook
The Internets are amazing
Letter of the day, May 4
This is the same J.E. Ash who made the comment about "bottled monsters," where we got our blog's name.
Noble J. Gregory
Member of Congress
First Kentucky District
Home Address:
Mayfield, Kentucky
Congress of the United States
House of Representatives
Washington, D.C.
May 4, 1939
Colonel James E. Ash,
Curator, Army Medical Museum,
Washington, D.C.
Dear Colonel Ash:
On display in your museum you have the bodies of five babies, and the placard by these bodies merely gives the date of their birth.
For your information, these babies were born in my home town of Mayfield, Kentucky, on April 29, 1896, to Mrs. Elizabeth Lyon, who is now a resident of Kevil, Kentucky, and who is eighty-two years of age. These boys were named Matthew, Mark, Luke, James and John. It strikes me that proper recognition should be given in this instance, and it is my suggestion that a placard be placed with these bodies giving the facts which I have above outlined.
I am sending you herewith two newspaper clippings recently appearing in the Mayfield, Kentucky, Messenger giving additional facts pertinent to this case.
I will appreciate your reaction to my suggestion, and if you desire further or more complete information before giving recognition as is due, I will be glad to secure the information for you.
Sincerely yours,
N.J. Gregory
NJC-cl
And the reply:
War Department
Office of the Surgeon General
Washington
May 8, 1939
Honorable Noble J. Gregory
Congress of the United States
House of Representatives
Washington, D.C.
Dear Mr. Gregory:
My assistant, Lt. Col. J.E. Ash, Curator of the Army Medical Museum, has furnished me with the enclosed photostat copy of the caption that is at present in the case with the “Mayfield Quintuplets” and a photostat copy of a letter from the then Curator of the Museum to Mrs. Lyon, in which you will note it was promised the specimen would simply be numbered. It is contrary to the policy to use names on specimens at the Museum, particularly when they are from persons still alive. The effort is made to maintain as high a scientific atmosphere as possible at the Museum and to keep the exhibits as impersonal as practicable.
I appreciate your interest in this particular “specimen” and thank you for the recent clippings. We are particularly glad to learn that Mrs. Lyon is still living. You might be interested to know that she visited the Museum during her trip to Canada in 1934 to see the Dionne Quintuplets.
In response to your suggestions, Colonel Ash has prepared a new caption, a copy of which is also enclosed, in which you will note that the name of the town has been added and also the interesting point about the babies’ names. According to our file, the fifth name was Paul instead of James. We still feel it would be well to adhere to our policy of omitting Mrs. Lyon’s name.
Sincerely,
C.R. Reynolds,
Major General, U.S. Army,
The Surgeon General.
Encls:
1. Present caption.
2. Ltr 2/25/16 from A.M.M. to Mrs. Lyon.
3. New caption.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Letter of the Day: May 3 - CSI Medical Museum
Headquarters of the Metropolitan Police,
District of Columbia,
Washington, May 3rd. 1896
Dr. Walter Reed,
Surgeon, U.S.A.
Army Medical Museum
Dear Sir:-
This department has under arrest a colored man named Noah Warner on suspicion of being concerned in the murder of John W. Hall April 7th last. On one of the shoes take off Warner are stains which are thought to be blood. Learning that you are an eminent expert in analyzing blood, I would ask, if I am not trespassing on your time and generosity, that you will kindly make an analysis of the stains on this shoe and advise me of the result. As early a reply as is compatible with your other duties will be greatly appreciated by
Yours very respectfully,
W.G. Moore
Major & Sup’t. Met. Police
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Ceremony for Wounded in Action Exhibit at the Russell Senate Bldg Washington D.C.
Letter of the Day: May 2 - Smithsonian crania collection
Washington May 2, 1868
Dear Sir:
In compliance with the desire expressed by you to acquire some of the duplicate crania of the Smithsonian collection for the Army Medical Museum, I take much pleasure in transmitting the specimens mentioned in the accompanying invoice, and hope they will be found to constitute an important addition to the collection under your charge.
Very respectfully
Your obt servt
Joseph Henry
Secy, S.I.
Dr. Otis
Army Med. Mus.
Washn.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Letter of the day, May 1
This letter and the one posted on April 22 refer to the Gibson Collection in our Anatomical Collections: 229 pathological skeletal specimens. A collection of pathological skeletal specimens from the cabinet of Philadelphia physician William Gibson (1788-1868) purchased by the Army Medical Museum in 1868 from the widow of his son, Dr. Charles Bell Gibson of Richmond, VA. Documentation is poor. Contains a cranium with a gunshot wound collected from the Battle of Waterloo.
Richmond Va
May 1st 1868
Dear Doctor
Enclosed please find Packers List of 5 boxes – being the last of the Gibson Cabinet. I am glad that it is done. I superintended the whole packing & did a good deal of packing myself. I think that when the bill goes in you will be surprised at the small amt. it cost here to do it. I got a young M.D. very poor to help me & would like to know about how much I should give him[,] he working faithfully 3 1/2 days. The wax was packed by an adept[?] – so called. I am fearful that the number called for on the catalogue will not hold out. 1 leather preparation is also missing the bones moreover & so [illegible] pictures. I will send you tomorrow a box containing a splendid specimen of Encephaloid of the lower jaw – I thought that it would be best to send the entire head & part of the neck as it would show better in that way the size &c & if you think well of it, have it mounted entire in a large jar – Dr Brower kindly let me have it – he is in charge of the Ft. Hospital & will furnish me with a history of the case tomorrow. In regard to those calculi I don’t think that I can get any history of them – if I recollect aright that one with a needle is described in Gibsons Surgery[.] MaGuire [sic] received his calculi &c all safe this morning – I went out with him yesterday to Howard Grove Hospital where he ligated the abdominal aorta. Upon cutting down he found that the aneurism embraced the whole of the [illegible] Illiac & impinged upon the aorta whilst trying to find out the whole extent it suddenly burst & cooly compressing the aorta above he succeeded in throwing a ligature around it about 1 [1/2?] inches above the bifurcation. The man lived nearly 11 hours. This morning we went out & made a P.M. [post-mortem] The sack was very large & the aorta much diseased where tied & above also. I wanted to get the specimen & send it on at once but DeLamater the chief of the Ft[?] bureau here gave Dr Brower positive orders this morning that no specimen should be sent to Washington unless it went through his office. For which I thank him very much as I have watched the case for three weeks in order to get it. I know exactly what will be the result he will probably send 2 or 3 things on & then that will be the end of it.
Get me a positive order to get these pathological specimens & I can [allude?] to them.
I am afraid that you will get very tired of my numerous notes
Yours truly
[John] Janeway
Dr Simmons wished me to say that business of a private nature prevented his returning to Washington, but that he will call on you when he goes there again
Friday, April 30, 2010
At Observatory in Brooklyn
The beauty of medical illustration
One of our posts on Civil War photography was recently featured on the blog The Sterile Eye, and I came across this post that features the incredible work of Jan van Rymsdyk, an 18th century illustrator. Take a look. They're breathtakingly beautiful.
Letter of the day, April 30
[Numbered Correspondence 5185]
Subject: Station & Duty.
War Department,
Surgeon General's Office,
U.S. Army Medical Museum and Library,
Corner 7th and B Streets SW.,
Washington April 30, 1901.
TO THE ADJUTANT GENERAL,
U.S. Army.
General:
I have the honor to report that during the month of April 1901, I have been on duty in the Surgeon General's Office as Curator of the Army Medical Museum in accordance with Par. 2 S.O. No.153, Hdqrs. of the Army, A.G.O., Washington, July 7, 1893.
Very respectfully,
Walter Reed,
Major & Surgeon, U.S. Army,
Curator Army Med. Museum.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
AAHM Special, Continued
The Bronze Medal of the Interstate Postgraduate Medical Association Of North America presented to William J. Mayo. NCP 1086: