The Museum of History of Medicine was founded in 1938 by Adalberto Pazzini and it is hosted from 1954 in the presente seat, inside the Istituto di Storia della Medicina, of "La Sapienza" University, in Rome (Viale dell'Università, 47/a).
The Museum "possesses a rich collection of items, many of which original, making it possible to trace the development of medical knowledge from prehistoric times up to genomics. In accordance with its educational and popularizing role as a body to complement the teaching provided both in primary and secondary schools and at the university level, the museum is furnished with video and multimedia equipment for in-depth examination of key issues regarding the history of medicine, biomedicine, bioethics, and relations between the biomedical sciences and society.
The exhibits are arranged on three floors. The basement houses reconstructions of settings such as an apothecary’s shop and an alchemist’s laboratory. The first floor covers the period from prehistoric times to the 17th century, with exhibits illustrating the medicine of the ancient Mediterranean civilizations and the Middle Ages. The second floor documents the transition from experimental medicine to the recent challenges of biomedicine and genomics and their technological applications"1.
- Photos by Luca Borghi ti.supmacinu|ihgrob.l#| (April 2008)
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Among many others, the Museum displays the following items:
* Adalberto Pazzini's bronze bust
* Anatomical theatre wooden model
* Anti-headache crown
* Antonie van Leeuwenhoek's microscope (replica)
* Cerletti's First Electroshock Apparatus
* Fabrizi da Acquapendente's Oplomochlion (reconstruction)
* "Lezione di anatomia" by Adalberto Pazzini
* Mondino de Liuzzi's statue
* Paracelsus bronze bust
* Rhinoplasty bandage after Tagliacozzi (reconstruction)
* The Child of Fidene
Bibliography
- AA.VV., Il Museo, Istituto di Storia della Medicina dell'Università di Roma, Roma 1958, pp. 249.
- AA.VV., Il Museo Documentario nel giudizio di competenti italiani e stranieri. Nel XX Anniversario della sua fondazione, Istituto di Storia della Medicina dell'Università di Roma, Roma 1960, pp. 136.