Health & Medicine

The Museum's collections of medical science artifacts represent nearly all aspects of health and medical practice. Highlights include early X-ray apparatuses, such as one of Wilhelm Roentgen's tubes, penicillin mold from Alexander Fleming’s experiments, and Jonas Salk's original polio vaccine. More recent acquisitions include the first artificial heart implanted in a human, the earliest genetically engineered drugs, and materials related to David, the "Bubble Boy." Other artifacts range from artificial limbs and implant devices to bloodletting and dental instruments, beauty products, and veterinary equipment. The contents of a medieval apothecary shop and an 1890s drugstore form part of the collections, along with patent and alternative medicines. The collections also document the many differing perspectives on health and medical issues, from patients, family members, doctors, nurses, medical students, and out-of-the-mainstream health practitioners.

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
after 1905
maker
Whitehead & Hoag Company
Chr. Hansen's Laboratory
ID Number
2006.0098.0119
accession number
2006.0098
catalog number
2006.0098.0119
Pin-back buttons serve many purposes. They are efficient advertising vehicles, handy for fund-raising in support of a cause, concise statements of a person’s beliefs, a form of educational outreach, and convenient ice-breakers for conversation.
Description (Brief)
Pin-back buttons serve many purposes. They are efficient advertising vehicles, handy for fund-raising in support of a cause, concise statements of a person’s beliefs, a form of educational outreach, and convenient ice-breakers for conversation. This pin-back is an expression of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender) pride. It has a pink triangle and the Greek letter Lambda in lower-case, both of which are LGBT symbols.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
n.d.
maker
Donnelly/Colt
ID Number
2010.0130.04
catalog number
2010.0130.04
accession number
2010.0130
Pin-back buttons serve many purposes. They are efficient advertising vehicles, handy for fund-raising in support of a cause, concise statements of a person’s beliefs, a form of educational outreach, and convenient ice-breakers for conversation.
Description (Brief)
Pin-back buttons serve many purposes. They are efficient advertising vehicles, handy for fund-raising in support of a cause, concise statements of a person’s beliefs, a form of educational outreach, and convenient ice-breakers for conversation. NMAH has several hundred buttons related to disability, including this one created by the Boy Scouts of America.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
n.d.
maker
unknown
ID Number
2010.0133.02
accession number
2010.0133
catalog number
2010.0133.02
Pin-back buttons serve many purposes. They are efficient advertising vehicles, handy for fund-raising in support of a cause, concise statements of a person’s beliefs, a form of educational outreach, and convenient ice-breakers for conversation.
Description (Brief)
Pin-back buttons serve many purposes. They are efficient advertising vehicles, handy for fund-raising in support of a cause, concise statements of a person’s beliefs, a form of educational outreach, and convenient ice-breakers for conversation. NMAH has several hundred buttons related to disability, including this one. It was created by the President’s Committee on Mental Retardation in 1991 to mark its 25th anniversary. The Committee’s name was changed in 2003 to President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1991
maker
unknown
ID Number
2010.0130.26
catalog number
2010.0130.26
accession number
2010.0130
Pin-back buttons serve many purposes. They are efficient advertising vehicles, handy for fund-raising in support of a cause, concise statements of a person’s beliefs, a form of educational outreach, and convenient ice-breakers for conversation.
Description (Brief)
Pin-back buttons serve many purposes. They are efficient advertising vehicles, handy for fund-raising in support of a cause, concise statements of a person’s beliefs, a form of educational outreach, and convenient ice-breakers for conversation. NMAH has several hundred pin-back buttons related to disability, including this one about protecting Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Before the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 provided the core of legal protection for most people with disabilities. Disability activists organized protests and sit-ins to pressure the government into signing the regulations needed to implement the law. Joseph A. Califano, Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare signed the regulations in 1977.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
n.d.
maker
unknown
ID Number
2004.3062.15
nonaccession number
2004.3062
catalog number
2004.3062.15
Pin-back buttons serve many purposes. They are efficient advertising vehicles, handy for fund-raising in support of a cause, concise statements of a person’s beliefs, a form of educational outreach, and convenient ice-breakers for conversation.
Description (Brief)
Pin-back buttons serve many purposes. They are efficient advertising vehicles, handy for fund-raising in support of a cause, concise statements of a person’s beliefs, a form of educational outreach, and convenient ice-breakers for conversation. NMAH has several hundred pin-back buttons related to disability, including this one with a quotation from actor and disability rights advocate Henry Holden.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
n.d.
maker
Holden, Henry
ID Number
2004.3062.01
nonaccession number
2004.3062
catalog number
2004.3062.01
Pin-back buttons serve many purposes. They are efficient advertising vehicles, handy for fund-raising in support of a cause, concise statements of a person’s beliefs, a form of educational outreach, and convenient ice-breakers for conversation.
Description (Brief)
Pin-back buttons serve many purposes. They are efficient advertising vehicles, handy for fund-raising in support of a cause, concise statements of a person’s beliefs, a form of educational outreach, and convenient ice-breakers for conversation. This button is a souvenir of the 1998 AIDS Walk in Washington, D.C.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1998
ID Number
1998.0275.02
catalog number
1998.0275.02
accession number
1998.0275
Pin-back buttons serve many purposes. They are efficient advertising vehicles, handy for fund-raising in support of a cause, concise statements of a person’s beliefs, a form of educational outreach, and convenient ice-breakers for conversation.
Description (Brief)
Pin-back buttons serve many purposes. They are efficient advertising vehicles, handy for fund-raising in support of a cause, concise statements of a person’s beliefs, a form of educational outreach, and convenient ice-breakers for conversation. NMAH has several hundred pin-back buttons related to disability, including this one. The fingers spell the letters DP.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
n.d.
maker
unknown
ID Number
2004.3062.16
nonaccession number
2004.3062
catalog number
2004.3062.16
Pin-back buttons serve many purposes. They are efficient advertising vehicles, handy for fund-raising in support of a cause, concise statements of a person’s beliefs, a form of educational outreach, and convenient ice-breakers for conversation.
Description (Brief)
Pin-back buttons serve many purposes. They are efficient advertising vehicles, handy for fund-raising in support of a cause, concise statements of a person’s beliefs, a form of educational outreach, and convenient ice-breakers for conversation. NMAH has several hundred pin-back buttons related to disability, including this one from Oregon.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
n.d.
maker
Salem Trophy Co.
ID Number
2004.3062.11
nonaccession number
2004.3062
catalog number
2004.3062.11
Some people with disabilities find telethons to be demeaning and offensive. They reject the use of people, especially children, as objects of pity as a strategy for raising money.
Description (Brief)
Some people with disabilities find telethons to be demeaning and offensive. They reject the use of people, especially children, as objects of pity as a strategy for raising money. One of the best known telethons has been the one hosted by Jerry Lewis on behalf of Muscular Dystrophy Association. Begun in 1966, the MDA telethon takes place on the Labor Day weekend.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
n.d.
maker
Trader Council
ID Number
2004.3062.08
nonaccession number
2004.3062
catalog number
2004.3062.08
Lapel buttons serve many purposes. They are efficient advertising vehicles, handy for fund-raising in support of a cause, concise statements of a person’s beliefs, a form of educational outreach, and convenient ice-breakers for conversation.
Description (Brief)
Lapel buttons serve many purposes. They are efficient advertising vehicles, handy for fund-raising in support of a cause, concise statements of a person’s beliefs, a form of educational outreach, and convenient ice-breakers for conversation. NMAH has several hundred buttons related to disability, including this one about muscular dystrophy.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
n.d.
maker
unknown
ID Number
2004.3062.10
nonaccession number
2004.3062
catalog number
2004.3062.10
Pin-back buttons serve many purposes. They are efficient advertising vehicles, handy for fund-raising in support of a cause, concise statements of a person’s beliefs, a form of educational outreach, and convenient ice-breakers for conversation.
Description (Brief)
Pin-back buttons serve many purposes. They are efficient advertising vehicles, handy for fund-raising in support of a cause, concise statements of a person’s beliefs, a form of educational outreach, and convenient ice-breakers for conversation. NMAH has several hundred pin-back buttons related to disability, including this one in support of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
n.d.
maker
Timberline Corp
ID Number
2004.3062.02
catalog number
2004.3062.02
nonaccession number
2004.3062
Gay-rights activist Cleve Jones began the AIDS Memorial Quilt with a group of friends in San Francisco in 1987. They conceived The Names Project as a way to remember and honor people who had died from AIDS.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Gay-rights activist Cleve Jones began the AIDS Memorial Quilt with a group of friends in San Francisco in 1987. They conceived The Names Project as a way to remember and honor people who had died from AIDS.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
n.d.
maker
unknown
ID Number
2004.3062.04
nonaccession number
2004.3062
catalog number
2004.3062.04
Gay-rights activist Cleve Jones began the AIDS Memorial Quilt with a group of friends in San Francisco in 1987. They conceived The Names Project as a way to remember and honor people who had died from AIDS.
Description
Gay-rights activist Cleve Jones began the AIDS Memorial Quilt with a group of friends in San Francisco in 1987. They conceived The Names Project as a way to remember and honor people who had died from AIDS. This pin-back dates from the 1989 unfolding of the Quilt on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1989
maker
unknown
ID Number
2004.3062.06
nonaccession number
2004.3062
catalog number
2004.3062.06
Pin-back buttons serve many purposes. They are efficient advertising vehicles, handy for fund-raising in support of a cause, concise statements of a person’s beliefs, a form of educational outreach, and convenient ice-breakers for conversation.
Description (Brief)
Pin-back buttons serve many purposes. They are efficient advertising vehicles, handy for fund-raising in support of a cause, concise statements of a person’s beliefs, a form of educational outreach, and convenient ice-breakers for conversation. NMAH has several hundred pin-back buttons related to disability, including this one. ACCD stands for the American Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities which existed from 1974-1983.
date made
n.d.
maker
N. G. Slater Corp.
ID Number
2004.3062.09
nonaccession number
2004.3062
catalog number
2004.3062.09
NMAH has several hundred pin-back buttons related to disability, including this one from ADAPT. ADAPT is a grass-roots activist organization founded in Denver, Colorado in 1983.
Description (Brief)
NMAH has several hundred pin-back buttons related to disability, including this one from ADAPT. ADAPT is a grass-roots activist organization founded in Denver, Colorado in 1983. “Free Our People” expresses their belief that people with disabilities should be able to live in the community rather than in nursing homes or institutions. The man is the Rev. Wade Blank, a civil rights activist and the founder of ADAPT. Blank became a disability activist after working as an orderly in a nursing home where he witnessed the mistreatment and poor care of people with disabilities.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
n.d.
maker
unknown
ID Number
2004.3062.14
nonaccession number
2004.3062
catalog number
2004.3062.14
Pin-back buttons serve many purposes. They are efficient advertising vehicles, handy for fund-raising in support of a cause, concise statements of a person’s beliefs, a form of educational outreach, and convenient ice-breakers for conversation.
Description (Brief)
Pin-back buttons serve many purposes. They are efficient advertising vehicles, handy for fund-raising in support of a cause, concise statements of a person’s beliefs, a form of educational outreach, and convenient ice-breakers for conversation. NMAH has several hundred pin-back buttons related to disability, including this one.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1958
maker
United Feature Syndicate, Inc.
ID Number
2004.3062.03
nonaccession number
2004.3062
catalog number
2004.3062.03
NMAH has several hundred pin-back buttons related to disability, including this one from ADAPT. ADAPT is a grass-roots activist organization founded in Denver in 1983.
Description (Brief)
NMAH has several hundred pin-back buttons related to disability, including this one from ADAPT. ADAPT is a grass-roots activist organization founded in Denver in 1983. “Free Our People” expresses their belief that people with disabilities should be able to live in the community rather than in nursing homes or institutions.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
n.d.
maker
unknown
ID Number
2004.0171.03
accession number
2004.0171
catalog number
2004.0171.03
Pin-back buttons serve many purposes. They are efficient advertising vehicles, handy for fund-raising in support of a cause, concise statements of a person’s beliefs, a form of educational outreach, and convenient ice-breakers for conversation.
Description (Brief)
Pin-back buttons serve many purposes. They are efficient advertising vehicles, handy for fund-raising in support of a cause, concise statements of a person’s beliefs, a form of educational outreach, and convenient ice-breakers for conversation. NMAH has several hundred pin-back buttons related to disability, including this one from Phoenix, Arizona.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
n.d.
maker
unknown
ID Number
2003.0092.03
accession number
2003.0092
catalog number
2003.0092.03

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