EXTRA: Historical Medical Tools at IMHM

Sign up | Log in

Photo Galleries

← Back To Albums

Magneto Electric Machine, circa 1850s: In an age when we barely understood what electricity was, we were already deliberately shocking ourselves with it. Physicians believed that electric current could cure a variety of ailments: toothache, neuralgia, depression. Patients would hold the hollow brass tubes and plug them into the box. When the doctor turned the crank, it produced a mild shock—about 500 to 1,000 millivolts. But despite the testimonials from (possibly fictitious) doctors on the lid of this device, it didn’t last. Except for depression, for which electroshock therapy is still used today, the treatment had a placebo effect at best.

Outtakes from our November 2012 issue: If a visit to the doctor today gives you chills, imagine what it was like in 1890. These objects from the Indiana Medical History Museum reveal how far healthcare has come. Mary Ellen Hennessey Nottage, executive director of the IMHM, takes us on a shudder-inducing tour.
updated 10.26.12

$Amputation Kit, circa 1853–1870: The saying "War is good for medicine" certainly proved true for the Civil War. Until that time, gangrene was the leading cause of death for anyone who was shot. "Physicians discovered that if they didn\$
$Stomach Pump, circa 1867–1890: It would make a great beer-tap handle, but this brass device was intended for the person who had imbibed too many. Or had a stomachache for some other reasons. It drew up the contents from the patient\$
$Thwaite\$
$Thwaite\$

x
Page:
1
1
2
2
Next »

Connect

Become an IM Insider

Subscriber Info