Letter of the Day: April 12

12 April 1956

 

Honorable Noble J. Gregory

House of Representatives

 

Dear Mr. Gregory:

 

Reference is made to your letter of 19 March and our reply of 21 March 1956 in which you requested a change be made in the exhibit label of the Lyon Quintuplets.

 

In accordance with the letter you enclosed from Mrs. Tilford and the birth certificate, the exhibit label has been changed to indicated the correct date of death of the quintuplet mother. The label now also includes the date of death of the father.

 

The exhibit, as it is now presented in our Museum, has been rephotographed. Prints of this photograph are enclosed as requested. May I thank you for your interest in this matter.

 

Sincerely yours,

 

W.M. Silliphant

Captain, MC, USN

 

Incl Photograph

 

c.c. Curator, Med. Museum

Science Museum London's history of medicine collections on the web

This note introduces a really cool idea I'd like to emulate at our Museum. For those who haven't visited the London museum, they've got 2 floors of medical history exhibits from the Wellcome collection.

The new history of medicine website of the Science Museum London has now been completed. In all it now presents 4000 new images of artefacts from the collections linked to 16 specialised themes on medicine across time, written by staff and other professional historians of medicine. Each theme is associated with bibliographies and interactives suitable for teaching at several levels.


The themes are:

Belief and medicine; Birth and death; Controversies and medicine; Diagnosis; Diseases and epidemics; Hospitals;Mental health and illness; Practising medicine; Public health;Science and medicine; Surgery;Technology and medicine; Medical traditions;Treatments and cures; Understanding the body; War and medicine


You can find the site at: www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife

Under a creative commons policy the images are available for download.

Dr Robert Bud

Principal Curator of Medicine

The Science Museum, London

Letter of the Day: April 11

Curatorial Records: Numbered Correspondence 4497

Repair of Animal Rooms

April 11 1900

To the Surgeon General,
U.S. Army.

General:

I have the honor to request that the following repairs be made in the animal rooms of the annex to this building:
Estimated cost
1. Repair of arch and walls of crematory … $30.00
2. Repairing plaster of portions of walls … $ 5.00
3. Whitewashing 3 rooms and ante-room… $25.00*
4. Painting woodwork in 3 rooms and ante-room… 25.00

This work should be done at the earliest possible date.

Very respectfully,

Dallas Bache
Col. & Asst. Surgeon General, U.S.A.
In charge of Museum & Library Divison

*This includes scraping of walls and at least two coats of whitewash.

Pencil notes added April 13, 1900, in accordance with 1st endorsement dated Apr 12, 1900. See Record Card No. 4497

Letter of the day, April 10 (1 of 2)

Camp Steele, San Juan W.T.
April 10 1868

Dear Doctor:

In reply to your letter in relation to Indian relics &c, I have to say that I am willing to do all I can in the matter; but that there are few or no Indians on this Island, and such articles are not procurable here by ordinary means.

In Victoria, in the shops, many articles such as you speak of, can be got; but not knowing how much money would be allowed for their purchase, I could not buy. Prices generally are high, as with everything else, on this coast.

One article, a really valuable relic, a shawl made by a tribe north of this place, for instance, was charged at $25.00: another at $10.00 &c. After officers exchange their paper pay into gold, & then buy the larger portion of the necessaries of life at prices nominally higher in gold than in paper at the East, they have but little left for speculations of such a kind.

Had I any information of the amount allowable, or a certain sum to expend, I might do something. Crania, or anything else, to be got without cost, I will try to procure.

I will also try to enlist Contract Surgeons in the work, as you desire.

Yours truly
J.E. Semple
Asst Surg. USA

Dr. Otis USA
Washington
D.C.

Letter of the Day: April 10 (2 of 2)

Military Hospital
Malahi Island, Laguna, P.I.
April, 10th, 1905.

Miss C.S. Ludlow,
S.G.O., Washington, D.C.

Madam:-

I have the honor to forward this date under separate cover 54 mosquitoes, collected at this station. Place:- Stockade, this post. Date:-April 9th, 1905, about 7 A.M. Collector:- Capt. C.E.B. Flagg, Asst. Surgeon, U.S.A. No prevailing diseases.

We have pill boxes on hand and will continue to use them for shipping boxes if they are satisfactory for the purpose. A cyanide bottle is needed as there is none available here. Chloroform is now used for this purpose.

A printed unsigned circular relative to collection etc., of mosquitoes, and a shipping box enclosing 3 pill boxes and purporting to contain a cyanide bottle was received from the S.G.O. March 26th, 1905.

No case of malarial fever has been known to have originated here. We make blood examinations in all fever cases and have occasionally one of malaria contracted elsewhere. We have not been able to secure any anopheles as yet, and I have not seen one since by arrival here last September. Lieut. Duncan, Med. Department, who was here last September, told me he found some anopheles in rear of his quarters.

These mosquitoes undoubtedly form a small per cent of the few on the island, but failure to catch any of them is probably due to inexperience of the collectors.

A statement as to whether you have ever received a malaria bearing mosquito from this station would be of interest for record in the medical history of the post.

Very respectfully,

Chas. E.B. Flagg,
Capt., Asst. Surgeon, U.S. Army,
Surgeon

Letter of the day: April 9 (2 of 2)

Alcatraz Island, Cal.,
April 9th, 1885

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

General:

I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of request from your office for a specimen, if preserved, in the case of Private P. O’Callaghan, Batty. “D”, 1st Arty., who died in the hospital of this post from the effects of a shot perforation of the skull, February 17th, 1885, and to reply that peculiar circumstances rendered it, in my opinion, imprudent and impracticable to secure the specimen for the Army Medical Museum as was my desire and intention.

Very respectfully,
Your obedient Servant
Jno. Murray Dickson,
Asst Surg. U.S.A.
Post Surgeon

Letter of the Day: April 9 (1 of 2)

Washington, DC
April 9 1870

Dr. George A. Otis
Bvt Col. USA

Col

I sent by Hospital Steward Marshall one model of boat used by Indians in Alaska Territory, one waterproof bag from Alaska made of seal membrane, two beavers teeth, two walrus teeth. These articles I contribute as curiosities that may be acceptable to the Curator for presentation and as objects of illustration and information. They have been acknowledged as contributed by Mr Marshall himself. Will you please make the change rendered necessary by my omission and send a formal communication.

Very Respectfully & truly yours
Basil Norris
Surg U.S.A.

British Natural History Museum's new building

Oooh, if only we could...

April 8, 2010
MUSEUM REVIEW | DARWIN CENTER AT THE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM
Enjoy the Bugs, but Don’t Feed the Scientists
By EDWARD ROTHSTEIN

Visibly Human Health & Disease in the Human Body

Visibly Human exhibit installation

Visibly Human exhibit installation

Letter of the Day: April 8

Memo for The Record

Albert E Minns Jr
Curator, Medical Museum

Herman E Demick
CQ 8 April 1961

8 April 1961

During CQ duty on this date numerous inquiries were made by visitors requesting the wherebouts of the Forensic Pathology exhibits.

Some inquiries were the direct result of the Army Times article and some were due to the Evening Star Letter To The Editor which is attached [missing now – MR]. However, the majority were from people who heard about the exhibits being interesting or those who had seen them previously and were bringing others in to see them. Upon arrival these visitors naturally inquired for them when the exhibits were not found in their areas.

One mother with her teenage son – present at the request of her son – stated that TV Westerns represent the use of guns and knives as not dangerous. Her son had been impressed with our exhibits which served as an object lesson to him. Rather than being shocked he was seriously interested and asked his mother to visit the Museum with him.

M/Sgt Clayton A Knepley, of WRAMC [this is when the Museum was still downtown near the Smithsonian] visited the museum with his teenage son expressly to see the exhibits in question. The Sgt was familiar with the Exhibits and in hi opinion they are very valuable to the young. He read the Times article and was in fact the source of my knowledge of any letter in the Star. His reaction to the affair is that in his opinion it is unfair and unwarranted. He believes both articles have been written by the same person – pointing out the similarity in the writing style.

Guard James Jackson and I had near one-hundred inquiries for the exhibits throughout the day. It may be noted that visitor attendance was comparatively light due to the parade activities. The total requests for the exhibits versus attendance represent a good percentage of people wanting the exhibits.

Mr. Robert F. Jones, [street address redacted] Philadelphia, Pa. tour-director brings groups of students and adults to D.C. at least once a week. During the past few weeks he has brought in young girl students in groups of 65. During these weeks he reports, not one of the girls have shown anything but serious interest in the Forensic Pathology exhibits. Not one case of “shock or horror”. His viewpoint is that his groups learned the seriousness of “the unloaded gun and the switch-blade”. Mr. Jones says he intends to write a letter to the paper giving his opinion. He said it is a shame the exhibits have been removed.

(signed)
Herman E Demick

Accession of the day, April 8

Chilicothe, Ohio. April, 1873.

A linen pocket handkerchief pierced by a bullet at the battle of Nashville, Tennessee. The 32 holes which it contains were produced by the same ball, while folded up in the pocket of the officer who owned it. Specimen received April 8" 1873. Source: Staples, E.L. Miscellaneous section #71.

Installing Mr Cluckey

Visibly human install

Poetry in Wartime

I read in today's paper that April is National Poetry Month. We have a small in-house exhibit and quite a nice one online about Walt Whitman, who nursed during the Civil War, and wrote quite a bit about his experiences in both poetry and prose. The internet archive has a lot you can download for free.

April e-newsletter

 

E-News from the National Museum of Health and Medicine – April 2010      Visit the Museum online at http://www.nmhm.washingtondc.museum  Welcome to this month's edition of our e-newsletter. Enjoy this brief update on upcoming exhibitions and public programs and the occasional interesting bit of news from our collections.  Do you like what you are reading? Forward it to a friend!
This month:  * "Wounded in Action: An Art Exhibition of Orthopaedic Advancements" opens May 7 * "Solving the Puzzle: Lyme Disease, West Nile Virus and You," a traveling exhibition, opens April 19 * "Visibly Human: Health and Disease in the Human Body" opens April 12 * NMHM hosts 11th Annual Brain Awareness Week * News and Notes: Did you know? * Events Calendar: National Hairball Awareness Day (April 27), Brown Bag Lunch: Author Reading and Discussion, "What's Eating You?: People and Parasites" (May 13) and the USA Science and Engineering Festival (Oct 2010) * Support the Museum!
"Wounded in Action: An Art Exhibition of Orthopaedic Advancements," an exhibit of art works inspired by experiences with the wounds of war, will have its first major installation at the National Museum of Health and Medicine in Washington, D.C. and the University of Maryland Baltimore (UMB), in May 2010, after a one-week exhibition in a United States Senate office building in the nation's capital. The exhibit, which is produced and organized by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), will open at the museum May 7. Read our news release.
New Poster Exhibition Coming to NMHM: The stories of West Nile virus and Lyme disease and how they affect human health are the focus of a new traveling exhibition "Solving the Puzzle: Lyme Disease, West Nile Virus and You," which will open April 19 at the National Museum of Health and Medicine. NMHM is the first museum to display this traveling exhibit. The Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History produced and organized the exhibition.
"Visibly Human: Health and Disease in the Human Body," a vivid presentation of anatomical and pathological specimens, pulled from museum collections dating back more than 100 years, goes on display April 12. The exhibit presents the body's organ systems and features normal anatomical specimens alongside specimens demonstrating some measure of pathology, be it from injury, disease or environmental factors. The exhibition will feature specimens and artifacts from the Museum's Anatomical and Historical Collections.
NMHM held its 11th Annual Brain Awareness Week March 15 – 19: Nearly 700 students from public and private schools in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., attended the event, which is sponsored by the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives. The celebration featured numerous hands-on activities designed to inspire a new generation of scientists interested in the brain and the field of neuroscience. Visit our photo galleries to view pictures from the event.
News and Notes: ·         Did you know? One of the most frequently visited sections on the Museum's Web site is an online exhibit  "Closing in on a Killer: Scientists Unlock Clues to the Spanish Influenza Virus" This virtual exhibit and the associated galleries of images are featured on an informational Web site related to the history of combating pandemic flu. ·         Please follow us on Twitter and Facebook to stay in touch with the Museum.
Calendar of Upcoming Programs: Check out the Events Calendar for updates: http://www.nmhm.washingtondc.museum/events/event_2ed.html.
FREE PUBLIC TOUR: Free docent-led tours are offered on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month. Tour begins at 1:00 p.m. Reservations are not required.
National Hairball Awareness Day   When: Tuesday, April 27, 2010, 12:00 p.m.   Join NMHM in celebrating National Hairball Awareness Day on April 27. Learn how hairballs (trichobezoars) form in the stomach, see a selection of human and animal hairballs on display and get a chance to hold an animal hairball. Bezoars form in the stomach of humans and some animals, and are made of indigestible matter such as hair, food and some medicines. A selection of bezoars from the Museum's collection will be on display from April 24 – May 2.   Cost: FREE
Brown Bag Lunch: Author Reading and Discussion   "What's Eating You?: People and Parasites" (Princeton University Press)   When: Thursday, May 13, 2010, 12:00 – 1:00 p.m.   In "What's Eating You" Eugene 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 share stories about parasites from worms to lice, designed to appeal to people eating lunch. Topics will cover leeches attacking soldiers in Vietnam, lice attacking lovers in New Orleans, worms attacking eaters in Israel, and will cover what to do when you return from a trip and suspect you have parasites. Eugene H. Kaplan is the Donald A. Axinn Endowed Distinguished Professor of Ecology and Conservation (emeritus) at Hofstra University.   Cost: FREE
USA Science and Engineering Festival   When: October 23-24, 2010 NMHM is proud to be an Official Partner of the inaugural USA Science & Engineering Festival to be held in the greater Washington DC area in October 2010. The Festival, which will be the country's first national science festival, is a collaboration of over 500 of the country's leading science and engineering organizations and aims to reignite the interest of our nation's youth in the sciences. The culmination of the Festival will be a two-day Expo on the National Mall on October 23-24, 2010, which will give children, teens and adults the opportunity to explore all facets of science & engineering through hundreds of fun, hands-on activities. For more information on all Festival events, visit www.usasciencefestival.org.
WE APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT! Thank you for reading this monthly e-newsletter. Is there something more that we can offer? Let us know!
National Museum of Health and Medicine/AFIP 6900 Georgia Ave., NW, Building 54/Room G056 (on the campus at Walter Reed Army Medical Center) Washington, D.C. 20307 General information: (202) 782-2200 Public Affairs: (202) 782-2672 Email: nmhminfo@afip.osd.mil On the Web: http://www.nmhm.washingtondc.museum Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/MedicalMuseum Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MedicalMuseum

 

 

 

Accession of the day, April 7

A.M.M. No. 2685 Miscellaneous Section

A brick implement used by Tagalog midwives, Island of Luzon, P.I., as an aid in difficult labor cases. Contributed by Capt. Geo. A. Zeller, Asst. Surgeon, U.S. Vols., Convalescent Hospital, Corregidor Island, P.I.

Specimen received April 7, 1902.

The brick was heated, wrapped in cloth, and placed against the perineum. Not as awful as it first sounds, is it? I really didn't want to know.

Letter of the Day: April 7 - mosquito hunters!

 

Clara Ludlow was on the Museum staff for a decade, researching and naming mosquitoes coming in, including this one from the Philippines in the genus Neomelaniconion.

 

Entomological Society of Ontario

 

London, Ont., Canada April 7, 1905

 

My Dear Miss Ludlow,

 

I have received today yours of the 5^th enclosing the P.O. order for five dollars, for which I beg to thank you very much. The extras will be ready in a day or two & then I shall get the printers. I do not at present know exactly what it will amount to, but no doubt there will be some balance towards the extension of your subscription.

 

One April Can. Ent. [Canadian Entomologist] as mailed yesterday (44 pages) . You will notice that I gave to your new mosquito the name of lineatopennis.  This deemed to express your meaning fully & to be euphonious also. I hope you will not object to it.

 

Yours very faithfully,

 

Charles B. Bethune

Medical Museums Association Annual Meeting 2010

The Medical Museums Association (or MeMA) will hold its 2010 annual meeting at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota April 27th and 28th. This year MeMA meets jointly with the Archivists and Librarians in the History of the Health Sciences (ALHHS). Registration for the meeting has extended until today, April 7th. Museum and special collections staff, collectors, historians, students and others interested are all encouraged to attend.

Meeting registration and Medical Museums Association membership information is available at: www.case.edu/affil/MeMA/memahome.htm

Highlights include tours of the Plummer Library Mayo Historical Suite, which originally contained general surgeons’ offices and the offices of William and Charles Mayo, and the Mayo Clinic Multidisciplinary Simulation Center, one of the largest medical simulation facilities in the world.

Steve Puglia, an authority on digital imaging and special media preservation from the U.S. National Archives and Records Association will be guest speaker to talk about digital production of historic collections including photographing three-dimensional objects and scanning other media; image quality standards; creating metadata; costs associated with digitization; and issues related to digital preservation including the migration of existing digital content. Digital media projects such as Flickr, Facebook, Twitter, podcasts and blogs have their turn at center stage on with presentations on current projects by MeMA and ALHHS members. Mike Rhode, Chief Archivist at the National Museum of Health and Medicine, and Steve Puglia will participate in a panel discussion afterward.

There will be feature programs by Mayo Clinic staff. Matt Dacy, Director of the Heritage Hall Museum, will highlight the history of the Mayo Clinic. Dr. Brent Bauer, Director of the Complementary and Integrative Medicine Program, will detail a project using 400 year old special collections material in ‘bio-prospecting for new drugs.’ And industrial hygienists will discuss how to properly handle hazardous materials in collections.

Then stick around a few more days and attend the American Association for the History of Medicine (AAHM) annual meeting also at the Mayo Clinic. Mike Rhode from the Otis Historical Archives and Emily Wilson from the Human Developmental Anatomy Division at the museum will be delivering papers.