The Science and Art of Medicine
The Science and Art of Medicine displays one of the finest collections of medical objects from all over the world.
Roman tweezers jostle with artificial noses, while statues of saints are matched by the magnificent travelling medicine chest of a Genoese nobleman. See treasures from Ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome and learn about their contribution to the development of 20th-century medicine. Other living medical traditions, including African, Chinese, Indian and Islamic practices, are also presented.
In the gallery students can use the exhibits to consider medical practices, beliefs and knowledge through time and across the world.
The following themes are represented:
- Prehistoric medicine
- Ancient Greece: the Asclepion
- Ancient Greece: doctors
- Ancient Rome: public health and personal hygiene
- Ancient Rome: medical treatment
- Medicine of the Arab world
- The plague
- The Renaissance
- Nineteenth-century surgery
- The First World War
- Twentieth-century diagnosis
- Chinese medicine
Psychology, public health, health promotion, childbirth and the National Health Service are also covered, along with major clinical and laboratory specialities such as dentistry, ophthalmology, physiology, microbiology, pharmacology and surgery.