Health & Medicine - Overview
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.
"Health & Medicine - Overview" showing 7 items.
Lapis Ortho Personal Pak
- 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.
- The Ortho Pharmaceutical Corporation of Raritan, New Jersey, marketed the Personal Pak pill case in 2000. Women could choose from six different cases, including this “Lapis” style. The Personal Pak was used in conjunction with the Ortho Cyclen and Ortho Tri-Cyclen brand birth control pills, which came in a blister pack ring that allowed the Personal Pak to be refilled every month.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 2000
- maker
- Ortho Pharmaceutical Corporation
- ID Number
- 2000.0090.15.1
- accession number
- 2000.0090
- catalog number
- 2000.0090.15.1
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Garnet Ortho Personal Pak
- 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.
- The Ortho Pharmaceutical Corporation of Raritan, New Jersey, marketed the Personal Pak pill case in 2000. Women could choose from six different cases, including this “Garnet” style. The Personal Pak was used in conjunction with the Ortho Cyclen and Ortho Tri-Cyclen brand birth control pills, which came in a blister pack ring that allowed the Personal Pak to be refilled every month.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 2000
- maker
- Ortho Pharmaceutical Corporation
- ID Number
- 2000.0090.15.2
- accession number
- 2000.0090
- catalog number
- 2000.0090.15.2
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Jade Ortho Personal Pak
- 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.
- The Ortho Pharmaceutical Corporation of Raritan, New Jersey, marketed the Personal Pak pill case in 2000. Women could choose from six different cases, including this “Jade” style. The Personal Pak was used in conjunction with the Ortho Cyclen and Ortho Tri-Cyclen brand birth control pills, which came in a blister pack ring that allowed the Personal Pak to be refilled every month.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 2000
- maker
- Ortho Pharmaceutical Corporation
- ID Number
- 2000.0090.15.3
- accession number
- 2000.0090
- catalog number
- 2000.0090.15.3
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Amethyst Floral Ortho Personal Pak
- 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.
- The Ortho Pharmaceutical Corporation of Raritan, New Jersey, marketed the Personal Pak pill case in 2000. Women could choose from six different cases, including this “Amethyst Floral” style. The Personal Pak was used in conjunction with the Ortho Cyclen and Ortho Tri-Cyclen brand birth control pills, which came in a blister pack ring that allowed the Personal Pak to be refilled every month.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 2000
- maker
- Ortho Pharmaceutical Corporation
- ID Number
- 2000.0090.15.4
- accession number
- 2000.0090
- catalog number
- 2000.0090.15.4
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Onyx Ortho Personal Pak
- 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.
- The Ortho Pharmaceutical Corporation of Raritan, New Jersey, marketed the Personal Pak pill case in 2000. Women could choose from six different cases, including this “Onyx” style. The Personal Pak was used in conjunction with the Ortho Cyclen and Ortho Tri-Cyclen brand birth control pills, which came in a blister pack ring that allowed the Personal Pak to be refilled every month.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 2000
- maker
- Ortho Pharmaceutical Corporation
- ID Number
- 2000.0090.15.5
- accession number
- 2000.0090
- catalog number
- 2000.0090.15.5
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Sapphire Ortho Personal Pak
- 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.
- The Ortho Pharmaceutical Corporation of Raritan, New Jersey, marketed the Personal Pak pill case in 2000. Women could choose from six different cases, including this “Sapphire” style. The Personal Pak was used in conjunction with the Ortho Cyclen and Ortho Tri-Cyclen brand birth control pills, which came in a blister pack ring that allowed the Personal Pak to be refilled every month.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 2000
- maker
- Ortho Pharmaceutical Corporation
- ID Number
- 2000.0090.15.6
- accession number
- 2000.0090
- catalog number
- 2000.0090.15.6
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Prempro Hormone Replacement Therapy
- Description (Brief)
- Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, produced this Prempro brand hormone replacement therapy around 2002. The Prempro is in a white foil package with a red and gold label. The package contained a trademarked EZ Dial dispenser with 28 tablets. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) was meant to relieve the hot flashes, night sweats, and physical discomfort associated with menopause. HRT pills were taken daily, and this package includes a trademarked EZ Dial dispenser. HRT was very popular during the 1990s, but in 2002 a Women’s Health Initiative study reported that HRT users were at increased risk of heart disease, blood clots, and breast cancer. The story had an immediate impact on the number of HRT prescriptions written, and the donor of this sample of Prempro stopped her hormone replacement therapy the day the news broke.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 2002
- maker
- Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories
- ID Number
- 2002.0308.1
- catalog number
- 2002.0308.1
- accession number
- 2002.0308
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center