Blog – Page 2

Aligning Us With the Stars: Medical Astrology According to the Vedas

Staff Staff research June 7, 2021May 26, 2021Astrology, Ayurveda, Digital image library, Zodiac man

– by Elijah Emerson Buchanan Doss, Visitor Services/Gallery Associate

Before influencing the West and prior to the beginning of the Scientific Revolution during the 16th century that changed modern medicine as we currently know it, Vedic texts described the relation between the movement of planetary systems and the human body centuries prior. Astrology and science were never separate entities until recently, but rather the two worked alongside of one another to explain illnesses and to treat sick patients.

According to the Vedas (the oldest scripture of Hinduism), Ayurveda, meaning, “the science of life”, is a system of medicine that is based on the highly evolved astrological system known as Vedic astrology.

Rhubarb, rhubarb

Staff Out of the stacks, Staff research May 28, 2021May 19, 2021Botanical medicine, Digital image library, Herbals, History of medicine, Rhubarb

It’s spring, and that means rhubarb! From strawberry rhubarb pie, to custard, to gin, this vegetable (most often used like a fruit) is either loved or hated by people the world over. Like many plants, rhubarb has been used medicinally for centuries, especially in traditional Chinese medicine. While the various species of rhubarb, and their distribution from Asian countries across the globe have been researched and discussed at length (see Sources and further reading for more), this post will examine the various types of rhubarb and their medicinal uses found in some of the Library’s herbals.

Mütter Medicine Mondays: Radiation and Radium Therapy

Staff #MütterMedicineMondays, Staff research May 24, 2021May 19, 2021Digital image library, Radiation, Radium therapy, Twentieth century medicine

– by Patrick Magee, Visitor Services/Gallery Associate

As covered in previous Mütter Medicine Mondays posts, the cutting edge of medical treatment is rarely a place free from debate. A common theme found in emergent medicine is the trade-off: what inconveniences will be had, or sacrifices will be made, to improve one’s prognosis overall? Radiation and radium therapy remain at the forefront of these discussions due to their roles as diagnostic tools and treatments for maladies like cancer, but their medical uses present similar dilemmas to those seen throughout the world when other forms of nuclear energy are invoked.

Seeing Is Believing: Ophthalmology In The Renaissance Era

Staff #MütterMedicineMondays, Staff research May 3, 2021April 14, 2021Digital image library, Medieval medicine, Ophthalmology, Woodcuts

– by Patrick Magee, Visitor Services/Gallery Associate

Woodcut from [Ophthalmodouleia], das ist Augendienst [219r]

Have you been to your eye doctor lately? The process might have been a little bit different than it was ten or twenty years ago, with developments in optometry resulting in new tests, diagnostic processes and equipment. In some instances, dilation is not even needed for a full exam to be completed anymore! Now, recognizing that these changes have come within many of our lifetimes, can you imagine how much different ophthalmology was a hundred years ago? What about during the Renaissance era? Through the Digital Image Library, we have assembled a collection of images and historical records that show off just what Renaissance era eye doctors could do with the tools and knowledge of the time. Keep in mind some of the forthcoming imagery (both literal and written) might not be for the faint of heart!
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Mütter Medicine Mondays: When the Medical & The Narcotic Overlap

Staff #MütterMedicineMondays, Staff research April 19, 2021March 31, 2021Digital image library, Narcotics, Nineteenth century medicine, Opiates, Pamphlets

– by Patrick Magee, Visitor Services/Gallery Associate

Did you like Medieval Medicine Mondays? We at the Museum did too, and it helped us gain insight into a bunch of medical oddities and trends over time! In this week’s blog entry, I want to once again shift our focus to a more recent time in medical history, one defined by printed pamphlets and a myriad of experimental drug treatments. Advertisements and texts meant for everyday people are a wonderful way to glean information about medical standards of the time and putting them into context can reveal something of a record of societal climate.

Libraries are the gates to the future

Staff Education and outreach, Out of the stacks April 5, 2021April 7, 2021Archives, History of the book, Libraries and museums, Primary source research, Rare books, Special collections librarianship

It’s been just over a year since COVID-19 shut down most of the world, including the United States and Philadelphia. The value of libraries and funding them has always been a hot topic, but with libraries shuttering their doors during the early days of the pandemic, it is even more obvious just how much our communities rely on libraries. In my eyes, there is no disputing the value of public and school libraries (see Further reading at the end for some great articles, including one written by Neil Gaiman!) – they do so much more than “just” lending out books.

A recent article published in the Philadelphia Inquirer, “Free Library is understaffed, undervalued and budget cuts won’t help”, discusses the issues that many libraries have faced over time: lack of staff, lack of funding, and lack of support. The Free Library of Philadelphia is a valuable resource to all of the neighborhoods and communities it serves, including the scholarly community which makes use of the main branch’s Rare Book Department. The Rare Book Department serves as an example of special collections libraries – which may not be as familiar as public libraries, but face the same problems of lack of resources. So what are special collections libraries?

Patients’ Experiences of Tertiary Syphilis Treatment at the Philadelphia Orthopaedic Hospital and Infirmary for Nervous Diseases

Staff From our researchers, Out of the stacks, Voices from our collection March 24, 2021March 18, 2021Early twentieth century medicine, Nineteenth century medicine, Patient experiences, Philadelphia Orthopaedic Hospital and Infirmary for Nervous Diseases, Tertiary syphilis treatments

– by Janet Lynne Golden, Professor Emerita at Rutgers University

I have always wanted to write about patients’ experiences of illness and ask how new diagnostic tools, treatments, and knowledge changed their daily lives. And I have always wanted to dig into the vast collection of patient records from the Philadelphia Orthopaedic Hospital and Infirmary for Nervous Diseases (hereafter POH). My interest in the records began thanks to the late Larry McHenry, Jr., M.D. who had hoped to write a history of the POH, the nation’s first neurological hospital. The materials from the POH are a goldmine, and include administrative records and, more importantly, casebooks that document the experiences of patients being treated for a variety of ailments.