Health & Medicine

Iron Lung

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.

Date: 1970s

Fluogen - Influenza Virus Vaccine, Bivalent (Immunizing Antigen, Ether Extracted)

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1973
expiration date
1973-12-10
maker
Parke, Davis and Company
ID Number
1982.0043.004
accession number
1982.0043
catalog number
1982.0043.004

Smallpox Specimen Collection Kit - Matieres Biologiques Perissables - Dangereux

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1965-1978
patent date (for leakproof bottled liquid mailable container)
1965-08-03
ID Number
1985.0768.05
catalog number
1985.0768.05
accession number
1985.0768
patent number
3,198,374

Dana Canoe Eau de Cologne Dummy Bottle

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1965-1975
product line launched in America (Canoe)
1959
maker
Dana Perfume Corporation
ID Number
2009.3030.25
nonaccession number
2009.3030
catalog number
2009.3030.25

Poliovirus Vaccine, Live, Oral, Trivalent - Diplovax Types 1, 2 and 3 (Sabin) - Propagated in Human Diploid Cell Strain (WI-38 Hayflick) - 10 Single Dose (0.5 ml.) Tubes - Pfizer No. 5101

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1972
expiration date
1973-04-01
maker
Pfizer Ltd.
ID Number
2007.0171.03
catalog number
2007.0171.03
accession number
2007.0171

U-80 Lente Iletin, Insulin Zinc Suspension, USP, 10cc, List No. M-480

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1974
maker
Eli Lilly and Company
ID Number
1985.0475.117
catalog number
1985.0475.117
accession number
1985.0475

Khora Cologne Spray

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1977
maker
Max Factor and Company
ID Number
1993.0384.005
catalog number
1993.0384.005
accession number
1993.0384

Hidden Magic Hair Spray for Normal Control

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca late 1967 - 1975
maker
Procter and Gamble
ID Number
1993.0384.009
catalog number
1993.0384.009
accession number
1993.0384

Poliovirus Vaccine, Live, Oral, Trivalent - Types 1, 2 and 3 (Sabin) - 10 Doses (1 ml.) - Pfizer No. 5216

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1972
expiration date
1972-10-01
maker
Pfizer Ltd.
ID Number
2007.0171.02.1
catalog number
2007.0171.02.1
accession number
2007.0171

Soo Sheeq Furuqa, Qaado 200 SH - Local Surveillance Record Card - Somalia

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1966 - 1977
ID Number
1985.3109.022
nonaccession number
1985.3109
catalog number
1985.3109.022

English Leather Push Button Deodorant

The indications or uses for this product as provided on the packaging are:English Leather Push Button Deodorant -- a man's deodorant in a man-size, economy package.
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided on the packaging are:
English Leather Push Button Deodorant -- a man's deodorant in a man-size, economy package. Scented with the famous English Leather fragrance, this highly effective deodorant permits normal skin breathing while providing maximum protection. Your best defense against offense is English Leather Deodorant.
For Use: Hold can about 6" to 8" from underarm and spray. Do not apply to broken or freshly shaven skin. If rash develops, rinse with soap and water and discontinue use. Never spray towards eyes.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1970s
ID Number
1993.0384.015
catalog number
1993.0384.015
accession number
1993.0384

Coulter Counter-Model A

In 1949, Wallace H. Coulter discovered a method for detecting and counting particles suspended in a fluid medium, later named the Coulter principle.
Description
In 1949, Wallace H. Coulter discovered a method for detecting and counting particles suspended in a fluid medium, later named the Coulter principle. Forcing a particle-filled fluid through a small aperture in an electrical current modulated the current, allowing Coulter to count the number of particles in the fluid. Coulter patented his Coulter Counter in patent number 2,656,508, a “Means for Counting Particles Suspended in a Fluid” on October 20, 1953, with an improvement filed in 1956 that added a manometer to move a precise volume of fluid through an aperture. In 1958, Wallace and Joseph Coulter established Coulter Electronics, Inc. to pursue commercial applications of their Coulter Counter. This Coulter Counter Model A was used during the 1970s and 1980s at the Animal Care Facility at the University of California, San Francisco. The Coulter Counter has a wide range of applications in medicine and science, most importantly in determining red and white blood cell counts.
Ref: “Wallace Coulter, 85, Inventor of Medical Diagnostic Tools,” New York Times (Aug. 17, 1998), p. A13.
date made
ca 1973
maker
Coulter Electronics, Inc.
inventor
Coulter, Wallace H.
ID Number
1987.0248.01
catalog number
1987.0248.01
accession number
1987.0248

Betadine Douche - Povidone-Iodine Cleansing Douche

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1970s
maker
Purdue Frederick Company
ID Number
1985.0475.602
accession number
1985.0475
catalog number
1985.0475.602

Peak Toothpaste with Baking Soda

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1973 - 1977
maker
Colgate-Palmolive Company
ID Number
1988.0717.46
accession number
1988.0717
catalog number
1988.0717.46

Oracon-28 Oral Contraceptive

The popularity of “the Pill” created a new market for pharmaceutical companies. For the first time, healthy women would be taking medication for an extended period of time.
Description (Brief)
The popularity of “the Pill” created a new market for pharmaceutical companies. For the first time, healthy women would be taking medication for an extended period of time. Pill manufacturers developed unique packaging in order to distinguish their product from those of their competitors and build brand loyalty. Packaging design often incorporated a “memory aid” to assist women in tracking their daily pill regimen, as well as styled cases to allow pills to be discreetly carried in bags and purses. The National Museum of American History’s Division of Medicine and Science’s collection of oral contraceptives illustrates some of the changes that the packaging and marketing of the Pill underwent from its inception in 1960 to the present.
Mead Johnson & Company of Evansville, Indiana, produced this Oracon-28 brand oral contraceptive in 1974. Oracon was a 28-pill sequential oral contraceptive. The blister pack contains 16 white estrogen pills, 6 pink combination estrogen and progesterone pills, and 6 green inert pills. The monthly dosage is organized into four weekly rows of pills that are numbered 1–28.
In 1971 Mead Johnson introduced Oracon-28 as the "first 28-day sequential oral contraceptive." Advertising emphasized that the "uninterupted 28-day regimen simplifies dosage instruction, reduces risk of missed tablets."
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1974
maker
Mead Johnson and Company
ID Number
1985.0475.143
catalog number
1985.0475.143
accession number
1985.0475

Alarm Clock

Alarm Clock by Rube Goldberg, circa 1970.
Description
Alarm Clock by Rube Goldberg, circa 1970. This non-working, sculpted model signed by Rube Goldberg was crafted [during the 1960s] to replicate a cartoon from the series The Inventions of Professor Lucifer Gorgonzola Butts that he drew for between 1914 and 1964.
Inscription: At 6 a.m. garbage man picks up ashcan, causing mule to kick over statue of Indian warrior. Arrow punctures bucket and ice cubes fall on false teeth, causing them to chatter and nip elephant's tail. Elephant raises his trunk in pain, pressing lever which starts toy maestro to lead quartet in sad song. Sentimental girl breaks down and cries into flower pot, causing flower to grow and tickle man's feet. He rocks with laughter, starting machine that rings gong and slides sleeper out of bed into slippers on wheels, which propel him into bathroom where cold shower really wakes him up.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
circa 1970
depicted
Butts, Lucifer Gorgonzola
original artist
Goldberg, Rube
ID Number
GA.23502
accession number
1972.289709
catalog number
GA*23502
accession number
289709

Bromo Quinine Cold Tablets

The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer, or as found in contemporary medical literature, are:For sinus and nasal congestion, headache, feverish feeling, muscular aches and pain, temporary constipationCurrently not on view
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer, or as found in contemporary medical literature, are:
For sinus and nasal congestion, headache, feverish feeling, muscular aches and pain, temporary constipation
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1960-1970s
maker
Bristol-Myers Company
ID Number
MG.313462.082
catalog number
313462.082
accession number
313462

Crane's Quinine and Tar Compound

The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer, or as found in contemporary medical literature, are:An Expectorant for Coughs, Colds, Hoarseness, Tickling in throat, Bronchial Coughs, and Coughs resulting from La Grippe.Currently not on view
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer, or as found in contemporary medical literature, are:
An Expectorant for Coughs, Colds, Hoarseness, Tickling in throat, Bronchial Coughs, and Coughs resulting from La Grippe.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
before 1975
before 1975
before 1975
before 1975
1908-1918
maker
Crane Medicine Co.
ID Number
MG.314016.068
catalog number
314016.68
accession number
314016

Basic Needs

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1976
associated date
1976
ID Number
1986.1035.102
catalog number
1986.1035.102
accession number
1986.1035

Jeneen Liquid Douche Concentrate

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1976
maker
Morton - Norwich Products
ID Number
1986.0198.020
accession number
1986.0198
catalog number
1986.0198.020

Freeze Dried Small Pox Vaccine - Vaccine Institute, Belgaum

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1978-10-05
maker
Vaccine Institute, Belgaum
ID Number
1985.0768.03
accession number
1985.0768
catalog number
1985.0768.03

Menstrual Sponge

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1978 - 1979
ID Number
1982.0531.076
accession number
1982.0531
catalog number
1982.0531.076

Freeze Dried Small Pox Vaccine - Vaccine Institute, Belgaum

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1978-10-07
maker
Vaccine Institute, Belgaum
ID Number
1985.0768.04
catalog number
1985.0768.04
accession number
1985.0768

Norforms New Herbal Feminine Deodorant Suppositories

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1978
maker
Morton - Norwich Products
ID Number
1986.0198.038
accession number
1986.0198
catalog number
1986.0198.038

Irident

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1969-1973
maker
Colgate-Palmolive Company
ID Number
1988.0717.13
accession number
1988.0717
catalog number
1988.0717.13

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