"One day the United States will have a National Museum of science,
engineering, and industry, as most large nations have." This was the
prediction made in 1946 by the director of the U.S. National Museum, Mr.
Frank A. Taylor, then curator of the Division of Engineering.[19] It was
in 1963, that the new $36,000,000 building of the Museum of History
and Technology was completed, and opened to the public in 1964. The
offices of the Division of Medical Sciences as well as the reference and
study collections were moved to the fifth floor of the new building. The
exhibits, however, will be displayed in the gallery at the southwest
corner of the first floor. These exhibits, it is hoped, will show a new
dimension and an unprecedented approach in displaying the development of
the healing arts throughout the ages and the instruments and equipment
associated with health professions. They also present the expanding
objectives and plans of the Division's growth as an integral part of the
Smithsonian Institution. Conveniently, the exhibits form four, closely
connected halls in one large gallery which will be open to the public in
the summers of 1965 to 1966.
[Illustration: Figure 21.--EXHIBIT ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF BLOOD-PRESSURE
INSTRUMENTS and the early 20th-century sphygmomanometers which was
completed in 1960. (Smithsonian photo 47943-M.)]
1. THE HALL OF HEALTH displays models and graphic and historical exhibit
materials to demonstrate the function of the various healthy organs of
the human body. The main topics emphasized are: embryology and
childbirth; tooth structure; the heart and blood circulation;
respiration; the endocrine glands; kidneys and the urinary-excretory
system; the brain and the nervous system; the ear; and vision and the
use of eyeglasses.
The most appreciated exhibit of all in this Hall is the "transparent
woman" figure which rotates, automatically, every 15 minutes with a
recorded message describing the function of each major organ of the body
at the same time that the organ is electronically lighted, so that the
viewer can see its place in the body.
[Illustration: Figure 22.--HEARING-AID EXHIBIT designed in 1962. It
includes otologist Julius Lempert's personal memorabilia and original
surgical instruments used in the fenestration operation for restoring
hearing. (Smithsonian photo 49345-C.)]
2. THE HALL OF MEDICINE AND DENTISTRY will depict the history of these
two sciences with exhibits of the equipment used through the centuries.
In the medical field, early trephining and other surgical instruments
will be displayed along with a diorama of an 1805 surgical operation
performed by Dr. Philip Syng Physick in the amphitheater of the
Pennsylvania Hospital. Diagnostic instruments such as stethoscopes,
endoscopes, speculums, and blood-pressure measuring devices will be
exhibited with a series of microscopes illustrating the development of
these instruments. Exhibits of original galvanometers and other
apparatus will trace the development of cardiography. The early use of
anesthesia will be shown by apparatus of William Morton and Crawford W.
Long, American pioneers in this field. The development of the devices of
modern medicine and surgery will be shown by exhibits of the iron lung
and x-ray tubes, including a tube used by W. K. Roentgen. Medicine
chests and surgical kits of different periods will graphically summarize
the state of medical science in the period each represents.
Exhibits on the development of dentistry and dental surgery will display
examples of tooth-filling and extracting tools, drilling apparatus from
the early hand and foot engines to the first ultrasonic cutting
instrument (1954), and the original contra-angle, hydraulic and
air-turbine handpiece model[20] which revolutionized the field of
instrumentation for dental surgery (with speeds of 200,000 to 400,000
rpm). This hydraulic turbine of Dr. Robert J. Nelson and associates of
the National Bureau of Standards set the design pattern for the
remarkable and successful high-speed, air-turbine handpiece developed by
Paul H. Tanner and Oscar P. Nagel of the U.S. Naval Dental School in
1956. Also underway is the reconstruction of the offices of famous
dentists such as G. V. Black and the father of American orthodontia,
Edward H. Angle, using their original equipment and instruments. In
addition, an exhibit is planned to include x-ray tubes and the electric
dental engine, the first to be operated in a human mouth by the pioneer
dentist on dental skiagraphy, Charles E. Kells (1856-1928).[21]
[Illustration: Figure 23.--EXHIBIT ON NURSING BOTTLES and measures to
promote child health to counteract the once-common diseases of
childhood. This display was completed in 1962. (Smithsonian photo
49345-G.)]
3. THE HALL OF PHARMACEUTICAL HISTORY will feature exhibits on the
reconstruction of two pharmacy shops: an 18th-century apothecary shop,
originally from Germany, with a very elegant collection of drug jars,
decorated medicinal bottles, balances, mortars and pestles, and other
tools and documents pertaining to the apothecary art, and a late
19th-century American drugstore with shelves filled with patent
medicines and drug containers of various sizes and shapes. The window
will also feature symbols of pharmacy and beautiful show globes.
Displays will show the development of antibiotics and the early tools
used in the manufacture of the so-called "miracle drugs," including a
mold from Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of penicillin. In
addition, a platform will be reconstructed to display a variety of
pharmaceutical apparatus used in the preparation and manufacture of
drugs, such as tablet and capsule machines and drug mills and
percolators. Recently, with the assistance of Professor Glenn
Sonnedecker, the Division acquired a fine collection of pharmaceutical
equipment and devices from the School of Pharmacy of the University of
Wisconsin.
[Illustration: Figure 24.--THE ORIGINS OF DRUGS from the three natural
kingdoms, drug synthesis, and the increase in the manufacture of
vitamins. This display was completed in 1962 and is now on display at
the Museum of History and Technology. (Smithsonian photo P6316.)]
Since the Division houses the largest collection of _materia medica_ in
the country, a representative cross section of crude drugs will be
displayed in alphabetical order as well as a display illustrating the
role of cinchona and antimalarial drugs in the fight against disease. An
exhibit will portray the "origin of drugs" from the three natural
kingdoms, animal, vegetable, and mineral, together with synthetic drugs
including the manufacture of vitamins.
Plans are being made for an elaborate exhibit of weights and balances
used in many countries throughout the centuries, their impact on
accuracy of dosage and weighing of drugs, and their use in the
apothecary art.
The Division will also display pictorial and printed materials, as well
as artifacts from all periods and all countries. These collections are
intended to help in presenting a more complete picture of the story of
the medical sciences for educational purposes and research, and to
increase man's knowledge in fighting disease and promoting health.
Thus, from a few hundred specimens of crude drugs in the Section of
Materia Medica of 83 years ago, there has developed a Museum Division
today which embraces the evolution of the health professions through the
ages. This Division now has the largest collection in the Western
Hemisphere of historical objects which are related to the healing arts.
The reference collections are available to the researcher and scholar,
and the exhibits are intended for pleasure and educational purposes in
these fields. The plans for expansion have no limitation as we keep pace
with man's progress in the medical sciences and continue to collect
materials that contributed to the historical development in the fight
against diseases and the attempts to secure better health for everyone.