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.

Place: Missouri

Warner's Original Compound Lithia Water Tablets

The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are: Diuretic. Antacid. Recommended by many practitioners in the treatment of gout, rheumatism, gravel and lithaemia.Currently not on view
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are: Diuretic. Antacid. Recommended by many practitioners in the treatment of gout, rheumatism, gravel and lithaemia.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
after 1916
ID Number
1979.0798.064
accession number
1979.0798
catalog number
1979.0798.64

Johnson's Malarial Chill & Fever Tonic

The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are: A medicine specially prepared to relieve malaria with its chills and fever and the discomforts that accompany it.Currently not on view
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are: A medicine specially prepared to relieve malaria with its chills and fever and the discomforts that accompany it.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1930
maker
James F. Ballard
ID Number
1979.0798.126
accession number
1979.0798
catalog number
1979.0798.126

Inserfem Bluline

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Blue Line Chemical Co.
ID Number
1980.0698.148
catalog number
1980.0698.148
accession number
1980.0698

B.B.B. Ointment

The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging: For treatment of eczema, pimples, ringworm, tetter, posion ivy, itch and similar skin afflictionsCurrently not on view
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging: For treatment of eczema, pimples, ringworm, tetter, posion ivy, itch and similar skin afflictions
Location
Currently not on view
date made
after 1920
retailer
Tupper's Pharmacy
maker
Blood Balm Company
ID Number
1980.0698.019
accession number
1980.0698
catalog number
1980.0698.019

Rexall Ninety-Three Hair Tonic

Rexall "Ninety-three" Hair Tonic was produced by the United Drug Company of Boston, Mass. The name, "Rexall," is derived from "Rx," the common abbreviation for prescription.
Description
Rexall "Ninety-three" Hair Tonic was produced by the United Drug Company of Boston, Mass. The name, "Rexall," is derived from "Rx," the common abbreviation for prescription. In company promotional material, Rexall also meant "King of All." By 1909 the United Drug Company of Boston, Mass. was producing about 300 different Rexall Remedies, which were sold through the company’s franchised Rexall Stores.
Rexall "Ninety-three" Hair Tonic was marketed with a money-back guarantee under the slogan "Try It On Us!" Early advertising claimed to relieve scalp irritation, eradicate dandruff, and prevent baldness. Other advertisements claimed that the hair tonic was the choice of fastidious or particular people. This bottle probably dates to around 1920. Rexall "Ninety-three" Hair Tonic was sold into the 1930s.
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are:
Intended for such cases of Dandruff, Falling Hair, Scanty Hair Growth, Scalp Irritation, Temporary Loss of Hair and Hair Color, and such other affections of the scalp, as are benefittled by a tonic treatment.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1920
maker
United Drug Company
ID Number
1979.0798.227
accession number
1979.0798
catalog number
1979.0798.227

Antikamnia & Codeine Tablets

The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging: For coughs, colds, bronchial and laryngeal affections; for dysmenorrhoea and allied aches; for rheumatic pain, neuralgia, for fever pain generallyCurrently not on view
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging: For coughs, colds, bronchial and laryngeal affections; for dysmenorrhoea and allied aches; for rheumatic pain, neuralgia, for fever pain generally
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
after 1919
maker
Antikamnia Remedy Company
ID Number
1980.0698.075
accession number
1980.0698
catalog number
1980.0698.075

Lynn's Ex-Ze-Em Ointment

The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging: To aid in the temporary relief of the discomfort of burning and itching accompanying eczemaCurrently not on view
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging: To aid in the temporary relief of the discomfort of burning and itching accompanying eczema
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1930
Associated Name
Tupper's Pharmacy
maker
Lynn Chemical Company
ID Number
1980.0698.028
accession number
1980.0698
catalog number
1980.0698.028

Laxative A-G Prescription

The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are: For simple headaches, simple neuralgia, muscular aches and pains. For common colds, simple headaches and reducing coughs and fever due to colds.Currently not on view
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are: For simple headaches, simple neuralgia, muscular aches and pains. For common colds, simple headaches and reducing coughs and fever due to colds.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1920
maker
A. G. Pharmacal Company
ID Number
1979.0798.410
accession number
1979.0798
catalog number
1979.0798.410

Febriline

[No indications or uses for this product are provided on its packaging.]Currently not on view
Description
[No indications or uses for this product are provided on its packaging.]
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1891-1934
maker
Paris Medicine Company
ID Number
1980.0698.091
accession number
1980.0698
catalog number
1980.0698.091

Powdered Antikamnia

The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are: Analgesic, antipyretic, and anodyne. It will reduce temperature and relieve pain with the greatest certainty and celerity, and has no evil after effects.
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are: Analgesic, antipyretic, and anodyne. It will reduce temperature and relieve pain with the greatest certainty and celerity, and has no evil after effects. Valuable in neuralgia, myalgia, sciatica, acute rheumatism, hemicrania, also headache and other neuroses due to irregularities of menstruation.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1890-1906
maker
Antikamnia Chemical Company
ID Number
1979.0798.137
accession number
1979.0798
catalog number
1979.0798.137

Foot-Geen

The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging: For tired, tender aching feet, chafing, foot soreness due to exercise and fatigueCurrently not on view
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging: For tired, tender aching feet, chafing, foot soreness due to exercise and fatigue
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1935
maker
S. Pfeiffer Manufacturing Company
ID Number
1980.0698.062
accession number
1980.0698
catalog number
1980.0698.062

Tums for Acid Indigestion

The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are: For acid indigestionCurrently not on view
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are: For acid indigestion
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1940
referenced
Heidt, Horace
maker
Lewis-Howe Company
ID Number
1979.0798.334
accession number
1979.0798
catalog number
1979.0798.334

Meade & Baker's Compound Carbolic Mouth Wash

The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging: For cleansing the mouth and teeth and for minor irritations of the throatCurrently not on view
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging: For cleansing the mouth and teeth and for minor irritations of the throat
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
after 1929
maker
C. I. Hood Company, Inc.
ID Number
1980.0698.060
accession number
1980.0698
catalog number
1980.0698.060

B.B.B. Purgative Pills

The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging: A mild and pleasant purgative for constipation, biliousness, sick headache, torpid liverCurrently not on view
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging: A mild and pleasant purgative for constipation, biliousness, sick headache, torpid liver
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
after 1912
Associated Name
Tupper's Pharmacy
maker
Blood Balm Company
ID Number
1980.0698.036
accession number
1980.0698
catalog number
1980.0698.036

Listerine Tooth Paste

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Lambert Pharmacal Company
ID Number
1999.0320.10
accession number
1999.0320
catalog number
1999.0320.10

Hagee's Cordial Compound

The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are:Appetizer, stomachic, stimulant to the appetiteCurrently not on view
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are:
Appetizer, stomachic, stimulant to the appetite
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1933-1935
depicted
National Recovery Administration
maker
Katharmon Chemical Co.
ID Number
2005.0100.030
catalog number
2005.0100.030
accession number
2005.0100

Lorate - A Medicinal Powder for Feminine Daintiness

The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are:A Medicinal Powder for Feminine DaintinessCurrently not on view
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are:
A Medicinal Powder for Feminine Daintiness
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1947
maker
Marcy Laboratories
ID Number
2005.0100.019
accession number
2005.0100
catalog number
2005.0100.019

Echinacea Augustifolia - 51% Alcohol

Glass bottle with cork stopper and a paper seal covering cork and tied around the lip of bottle. A paper label with black print is wrapped around three sides of the bottle. 1906 Food and Drugs Act Notice printed on product label.
Description
Glass bottle with cork stopper and a paper seal covering cork and tied around the lip of bottle. A paper label with black print is wrapped around three sides of the bottle. 1906 Food and Drugs Act Notice printed on product label. Bottle is empty except for dark residue.
Indications as per product label: "Indicated as a corrector of depravation of the fluids of the body, as in Boils, Carbuncles, Abcesses, Malignant Diphtheria, Cerebro-Spinal Meningitis; Puerperal and Typhoid Fevers; Septicaemia; etc. Also in Measles;Cholera Infantum; Cholera Morbus; Dysentery; Dudoenal Catarrh; Ulcerative Stomatitis; Scarlet Fever; Tonsilitis; bites and stings of snakes, insects, etc."
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1908-1918
maker
Luyties Pharmacal Co.
ID Number
2004.0129.76
accession number
2004.0129
catalog number
2004.0129.76

Vin Mariani

The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are: Angelo Francois Mariani introduced Vin Mariani (Mariani Wine) in 1871. He formulated the tonic while employed at a Paris drugstore, assisted by one of his clients, Dr.
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are: Angelo Francois Mariani introduced Vin Mariani (Mariani Wine) in 1871. He formulated the tonic while employed at a Paris drugstore, assisted by one of his clients, Dr. Charles Fauvel, pioneer in the anesthetic application of cocaine.
Vin Mariani, a potent concoction of Coca leaves and red wine was promoted as beneficial for a plethora of ailments including malaria, fever, chills, nervous disability, mental and physical depression, and consumption. As cocaine was not regulated within the United States, Vin Mariani's intoxicating ingredients made it as successful domestically as it was internationally. The wine was especially popular when served as a cocktail mixed with vermouth, bitters and a twist of lemon. Newspaper advertisements from the end of the 19th century hint at the wine's strong narcotic effects, highlighting the tonic's ability to "brace body and brain" and "make the weak strong."
In a time of unprecedented drug promotion, Vin Mariani was among the most heavily publicized proprietary medications. Prior to public recognition of cocaine's dangerous and addictive properties, Mariani procured endorsements from such celebrities as Thomas Edison, Sandra Bernhardt, Robert Louis Stephenson, Pope Leo XII, President William McKinley and Queen Victoria! Mariani also commissioned fashionable posters from famed Belle Epoque designer Jules Cheret, prints of which are still popular today.
While not the first cocaine tonic, Vin Mariani was the most successful, leading the way for similar preparations, notably Coca-Cola, formulated by Atlanta druggist John Pemberton in 1886. This example of Vin Mariani was produced in 1914. It was analyzed in 1987 by scientists from Yale University and found to contain cocaine. Later, like Coca-Cola, the cocaine element was dropped, and the tonic continued to be sold into the 1960s.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1914
maker
Mariani and Company
ID Number
1993.0472.038
catalog number
1993.0472.038
accession number
1993.0472

Swaim's Panacea

The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging:Alterative and blood purifierCurrently not on view
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging:
Alterative and blood purifier
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
after 1906
maker
Swaim's Laboratory
ID Number
1989.0711.54
catalog number
1989.0711.54
accession number
1989.0711

Citrate of Magnesia

The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging:Refrigerant, laxative, purgativeCurrently not on view
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging:
Refrigerant, laxative, purgative
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1910
maker
John H. Martin
ID Number
1989.0711.11
accession number
1989.0711
catalog number
1989.0711.11

Ophthalmic Caliper

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Storz Instrument Company
ID Number
1990.0196.18
catalog number
1990.0196.18
accession number
1990.0196

Ophthalmic Speculum

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Storz Instrument Company
ID Number
1990.0196.16
catalog number
1990.0196.16
accession number
1990.0196

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