Medical Museum

The stimulus for the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics Medical Museum was the donation of a case of surgical instruments by Phoebe Wilcox of Newton, Iowa, in 1982. These instruments belonged to her grandfather, Dr. Vinton S. Wilcox, who was a member of the fourth graduating class of the University of Iowa Medical Department in 1874, and who became a general practitioner in Malcom, Iowa. With these instruments as one of many exhibits designed to appeal to an audience of patients, visitors, the hospital community, and the general public, the museum opened in February 1989.

1. First University Hospital, circa 1920. Photo courtesy of UI Libraries, Archives

The Museum serves as an educational resource focusing on the progress of medicine and patient care and emphasizing the major role of University Hospitals in these advances. In this way, the study of health in Iowa illustrates the history of medicine and the health sciences. Through rotating and traveling exhibits of photographs, artifacts, and "hands-on" activities, visitors can view the advances in patient care from the time of the ancients to the present day. The Museum also sponsors a lecture series open to the general public on topics related to current exhibitions, on the history of health care, and on medical and ethical issues.

 

2. The Medical Museum

The makeup of the human body and the facts of disease and injury have remained basically unchanged for thousands of years. However, scientific understanding of the body and of pathological mechanisms has gradually improved, leading to remarkable advances in medical care. Major revolutions in medicine-from antibiotics to robotics-as well as rapidly changing notions of health and health care are documented by the Medical Museum. Our exhibits offer a glimpse into the structure and functions of the human body, and acquaint visitors with some of the most common diseases and injuries. They also show how the UI Hospitals & Clinics has met these challenges and continues to find new answers as we head into the twenty-first century.

The Medical Museum collection supports our mission to stimulate, inform, and educate patients and visitors about institutional health care and health-related issues. In mounting our exhibitions we draw from our collections of artifacts, photographs, historical records, and medical equipment and instruments.

Our collections reflect the history of health care and research at UI Hospitals & Clinics, the state of Iowa, and the Midwest. The collection also reflects a focus on current health care issues. We include objects and other relevant items that are suitable for display, research, educational use, and loan.

The 5,000-plus objects in our permanent collection fall into these major categories:

• Ophthalmology, including optical lenses, color-blindness test kits, stereoscopes, spectacles, ophthalmoscopes, and surgical instruments.
• University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics history, including a time capsule from the first hospital building (1898), yearbooks, portraits, programs, diplomas, and journals.
• Diagnostic Equipment, including approximately 150 items such as stethoscopes, early sphygmomanometers, microscopes, X-ray equipment, blood-glucose testing devices, and reflex hammers.
• Obstetrics/Gynecology, including fetal stethoscopes, forceps, cranial devices, specula, ether inhalers.
• Cardiology, including an early portable EKG, heart valves, mold for prosthetic blood vessels, and documentation of the purchase of the first EKG at UI Hospitals & Clinics in 1919.
• Otolaryngology, including a monochord, otoscopes, bronchoscopes, and hearing aids.
• Miscellaneous, including a 1930s examining chair used in the film "Field of Dreams," caned-seat wheelchair, syringe and hypodermic sets, examination tables, World War II first-aid kit, appointment cards, and an iron lung.
• In addition, we have items from Anesthesiology, Homeopathic Medicine, Internal Medicine, Nursing, Orthopedics, Pathology, Pediatrics, Pharmaceuticals, Psychiatry, Radiology, Therapeutic Devices, and Urology.

The several hundred historical photographs in the collection include approximately 20 framed, original College of Medicine class portraits. Modern images include studies of medical procedures and modern equipment in use.

The manuscripts and documents collection includes approximately 330 medical and nursing texts, medical record books, physician's journals, photo albums, and more than 100 booklets and documents.

In addition, the Medical Museum has a variety of medical records from previous decades. Documentation of births, deaths, the Admission Requirements for Nurses at University Hospitals in 1908, a pamphlet from the University's dedication ceremony and much more. Some of these records are displayed in exhibitions with artifacts and instruments.

To continue to expand Project Art's services to our patients and visitors, private contributions are essential. These gifts help fund newacquisitions, cover artists' fees, purchase art supplies, and meet other important needs.

You may support Project Art through a number of programs conducted by the UI Center for Advancement:

• Annual gifts, whether cash, check, or credit card, are directed toward Project Art's ongoing needs, and provide a valuable source of support. The Foundation can send you an annual giving reminder in the month you specify.
• Planned gifts, through bequests, trusts, or other life-income gifts, can provide lasting support for Project Art while meeting your own long-term financial and philanthropic goals. The Foundation can provide you with more details about these methods of charitable giving, including gifts of appreciated securities.

All gifts to Project Art through the UI Center for Advancement qualify as charitable contributions to an IRS Sec. 501(c)(3) public charity for federal income, estate, and gift tax purposes.

For more information about private support for Project Art, contact:

Sheila Baldwin
Director of Development
University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics
University of Iowa Center for Advancement
P.O. Box 4550
Iowa City, IA 52244-4550
1-319-335-3305 or 1-800-648-6973

or

Bruce Scherting
Director, Project Art
University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics
200 Hawkins Drive
8023 John W. Colloton Pavilion (JCP)
Iowa City, IA 52242-1009
1-319-353-6417

Long-term exhibits circulate through our two large eighth-floor gallery spaces and several smaller spaces located throughout the hospital.

A Century of Caring: Health Sciences at The University of Iowa, 1850-1950

This exhibition highlights the early history of University Hospitals and the four health science colleges–Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, and Pharmacy–and shows how scientific innovations and institutional growth contributed to patient care.

Location: John W. Colloton Pavilion (JCP), Level 8, Elevator F

In the Pursuit of Healthy-ness

In the Pursuit of Healthy-ness is a display for the patients, visitors, staff and faculty of the hospital to enjoy. The exhibit addresses major concerns with our society and its well-being today, providing useful information from how to prevent type 2 diabetes to ways to get children off the couch and exercising. Learn more about the gallery by browsing the four sections below, and don't forget to test your knowledge by taking our online quiz.

Location: John W. Colloton Pavilion (JCP), Level 8, Elevator F

Quiz

How much do you know about maintaining a healthy lifestyle? Take our quiz to find out.

At the Doctor’s

Medical professionals stress the importance of preventive health care for people of all ages, including adults 65 and older. Especially after age 65, older adults are at increased risk for diabetes, heart attack and stroke, and the most common form of dementia, Alzheimer's disease. Read about the symptoms, risks, treatment, and prevention:

• Alzheimer's
• Diabetes
• Heart Attack
• Stroke

Where We Live and in the Home

The average American spends more than 90% of his or her time inside. Potential hazards in homes include biological and chemical pollutants, inadequate lighting, and poor physical design. These hazards can lead to everything from injury to asthma to cancer. But you can take steps to protect your family. Come to the exhibit to find many ways to keep your home healthy. Below, learn more about smoking and radon pollutants:

• Radon
• Smoking

At the Park and in the School

Regardless of age, weight or athletic ability, aerobic exercise is good for you. This section of the gallery will show you how regular aerobic activity, such as walking, bicycling or swimming, can help you live longer and healthier. The exhibit has interactive stations set up to test your balance, flexibility, and strength training. We've included the benefits of the exercises here, but you'll have to take a trip to the exhibit if you want test yourself! Also take a look at the young visitors guide to help kids develop healthy exercise habits.

What We Eat

We've heard time and time again that obesity is a major problem with American society. Portion sizes have considerably grown in the past few decades, thus promoting unhealthy habits for our children. This section of the exhibit displays many comparisons of portion sizes and good and bad foods.

Treating War's Wounds: Innovations in Medicine from the Civil War

In many ways, the American Civil War pushed the boundary of what was technologically and socially possible during the latter part of the 19th Century. For example, the hypodermic syringe and needle had not been in wide use, and the formal inclusion of African Americans and women in war-time activities was uncommon in this country. A time of conflict and struggle, it was also a time of innovation and change.

This exhibit seeks to describe the scope and magnitude of medical burden the Civil War Surgeon faced, and to capture a sense of how he and others responded to such a need. Novel modes of treatment for battlefield wounds, widespread use of anesthetics, recruitment of female caregivers and a movement toward improved sanitation were among these responses.

Location: Roy J. Carver Pavilion (RCP), Level 6, Elevator G

The Black Soldier

Under what conditions did black soldiers work during the Civil War?

Private Driscoll

What did surgeons do when a bullet became lodged in a soldier's pelvic bone.

Dr. Mary Walker

Read about this surgeon's life in the Civil War.

Female Caregivers

How did women care for wounded soldiers?

Bullet Removal

How were bullets removed from wounds during the Civil War?

Disease and Amputation

What instruments were used in amputation?

Pain Management and Embalming

What was used to ease a soldier's pain?

The Wound Dresser

Read Walt Whitman's interpretation.

When the Spine Curves: Treatments for Scoliosis

Location: Roy J. Carver Pavilion (RCP), Level 6, Elevator G

The Iowa Child Welfare Research Station from Women Pioneering the Study of Child Development

From Women Pioneering the Study of Child Development

Location: Roy J. Carver Pavilion (RCP), Level 5, Elevator H

Homeopathy in Iowa

Location: Roy J. Carver Pavilion (RCP), Level 5, Elevator H

Past Gallery Exhibits:

• Diagnostik
• Nature's Pharmacy: Ancient Knowledge, Modern Medicine (October 1998 - August 1999)
• Common Threads: The Lives and Stories of Women Living With Breast Cancer (March-May 1999)
• Art That Heals: The Image as Medicine in Ethiopia (January 2 - February 1999)
• Facts of Life: Examining Reproductive Health (February - December 1995)
• The Illuminated Body: Representation in Medicine and Culture (February 1994 - December 1994)
• The Trail of the Invisible Light: A Century of Medical Imaging (December 1992 - December 1993)
• Bucking the System: Women in the Health Sciences at the University of Iowa 1874-1950  (April - October 1992)
• In the Eye of the Beholder: Sight, Illusion, and Disorder  (April 1991 - February 1992)
• Collecting and Recollecting: Gifts from the Recent Past  (January 16 - March 5, 1991)
• The Beat Goes On: A History of Cardiology (February 1990 - December 1990)

Past Satellite Exhibits:

• The Cultural Body Find out about footbinding, corsets, scarification ,and more.
• The Development of Emergency Medical Services How the EMS began.
• J. Sarah Braunwarth The making of a doctor.
• Military Medicine Military Treatment and medical procedure.
• Perioperative Nursing A time line of the developments in perioperative nursing.