Today stethoscopes are a typical fixture around doctors' necks. They are commonly used to listen to the sounds of the heart and lungs as well as the flow of blood during blood pressure readings. The practice of percussion and immediate auscultation were popular in physical examinations by the early 1800s. In immediate auscultation, physicians placed… Continue reading A short history of stethoscopes
Year: 2009
Light the Wick
The Rose Melnick Medical Museum has been featured on "Light The Wick," a weekly video newsletter about people and events on Wick Avenue, Youngstown State University's (YSU) arts corridor. The show typically includes profiles of students, staff, faculty, visiting artists, and administrators in the YSU arts scene as well as coverage of noteworthy events. The… Continue reading Light the Wick
Old photographs found
While cleaning out a room in the museum, I found a shelf full of old photographs and negatives. Many of these photographs depicted local physicians and hospitals. I thought others might be interested in the images and decided that enlargements would be great decoration for the museum. I had 28 of the photographs scanned at… Continue reading Old photographs found
Summer Festival of the Arts!
Saturday, July 11th and Sunday, July 12th, 2009 Wick Aveune and the YSU campus will be packed with a variety of kids crafts, local art, and ethnic food! This year, the Rose Melnick Medical Museum will be open. This is a great time to check us out! As always, admission to the Museum is free.… Continue reading Summer Festival of the Arts!
1890 Rx
Last week, while leafing through a 1890s medical book from the museum's library, I found a small slip of paper between the pages. It was a prescription recipe for the pharmacy of H. Waterman in Ravenna, OH. As I looked over the neat handwriting, I realized that the drug names were written in Latin and… Continue reading 1890 Rx
Sometimes gross but fascinating…
One of the blogs on the Melnick Medical Museum's "blogroll" is Morbid Anatomy. The blog is written by Joanna Ebenstein. For more than two years she has used it to explore the intersection of anatomy and art. As a photographer and graphic designer, Ebenstein has an eye for visually interesting images. She is interested in… Continue reading Sometimes gross but fascinating…
Polio survivors face new challenges
On Monday, National Public Radio aired a story about Dr. Lauro Halstead, a doctor who published his research about what would come to be known as post-polio syndrome (PPS) 25 years ago this month. Halstead's research described PPS as a condition that affects polio survivors decades after they were first struck by the disease and… Continue reading Polio survivors face new challenges
AMA anniversary
Today, May 7th, is the 162nd anniversary of the founding of the American Medical Association (AMA). The mission of the organization was to advance the science of medicine, to improve the standards for medical education, to develop a program of medical ethics, and to improve the health of the public. The AMA was organized in… Continue reading AMA anniversary
Interesting Smithsonian exhibits on medicine
Common Threads exhibit by Jean Shin at the Smithsonian Museum of American Art: This exhibit is made out of a collection of similar everyday objects. For example, "Chemical Balance III" makes lighted stalactite- and stalagmite-like sculptures out of empty prescriptions containers. According to the artist, this part of the exhibit speaks to a dependency on… Continue reading Interesting Smithsonian exhibits on medicine
Dissection: Photographs of a Rite of Passage in American Medicine 1880–1930
Throughout medical history, the practice of dissection has been controversial. During some periods of history it was distasteful or even illegal. At other times it served as the cornerstone of anatomy classes. Public opinion and differences in religious beliefs often meant that some cultures accepted the practice while others did not. The Dittrick Medical History… Continue reading Dissection: Photographs of a Rite of Passage in American Medicine 1880–1930
Melnick Medical Museum 