What do Medical Museums *Really* have to Offer?

Sometimes it is important not to let objects speak for themselves. The Dittrick Medical History Center has the most extensive collection of 19th and early 20th century surgical instruments in the United States, the largest collection of historic contraceptives in the world, and the most comprehensive gallery of diagnostic instruments (like the earliest stethoscopes!) in North America. We also boast fascinating material on the history of birth, the history of anesthesia, the history of hospital care, WWI medicine, forensics, and much more. But objects and artifacts, as amazing as they are, don't tell the whole story. Museums--and medical museums in...

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