National Medical Library on a Historical Photograph Early history of the National Medical Library are bound with the Physicians’ House on the Sokolska Avenue, founded by Czech physicians and their professional organizations. The Central Library and Reading Room of Czechoslovak Physicians and Medical Students opened in that building in 1931, having merged a number of libraries […]
Schimmelbusch Irrigation Syringe Even minimal changes in temperature and humidity endanger preservation of museum objects. Objects are composed of different materials, which react differently to climatic changes. Schimmelbusch irrigation syringe, made of metal to allow heat sterilization, can serve as an example. Since the early 20 century, instrument makers delivered syringes upon request in simple […]
Irrigator Éguisier, around 1880 Douche and enema syringes have been known since antiquity. They have been employed to cure constipation and stomach complaints, to douche genital and urinary tract, cleanse wounds or remove foreign objects from bodily orifices. Beginning in the 600s, most clysters and douches were self-administered. The use of vaginal douches as contraceptives […]
Badge of a physician’s car, 1930s Illuminated car radiator badge marked the automobiles of medical doctors on duty. The Aesculap Autoclub of Czechoslovak physicians, car owners and operators (founded in 1930), introduced it in 1931. The club chose a red cross in a blue field to avoid confusion with the internationally and nationally protected Red Cross symbol. The […]
Kuli-kabátek (Coolie-Coat), early 1980s Until mid-1980s, during patient visits or while playing outside with children patients, Czechoslovak nurses wore “coolie-coats.” The shapeless box-cut and hard fabric called forth no enthusiasm and nurses preferred their own sweaters or coats. In addition, there was always a shortage of coolie-coats, as well as other parts of the nursing uniforms. […]
Bronchogom Throat Lozenges, Kalina Pharmacy, 1930s In the cold, wet winter months many of us suffer from upper respiratory infections. Cough lozenges, bonbons containing herbal extracts, menthol or eucalyptus oil, are not only tasty, but help expectoration and ease other symptoms of the cold. In the 19 and early 20 century, opiates were a common ingredient: […]
Eugen Normand’s A Student’s Dream (1932) The Visual Art Collection of the NML Medical Museum includes plastic art objects – above all, the sculptures of the Würtz Collection – as well as paintings, drawings and prints, processed and catalogued in the Medvik library catalog. The collection includes caricatures of important personages of pre-war medicine. Three of them, designed […]
October 28, 1918 in the Diary of Professor Vladimír Bergauer The birth of the Czechoslovak Republic in 1918 intersected with everyday lives of Czech people in many different ways. The Medical Museum collection preserve a student diary of Vladimír Bergauer (1898-1942) later Associate Professor of General Biology at the Czech Medical Faculty in Prague, Director of […]
Learn from the Soviet Red Cross and Red Crescent Health Patrols to Keep our Schools Clean and Healthy School Red Cross „Health Patrol“ propaganda poster, early 1950s (Printed by North Bohemia Print Works, Liberec) In the early 1950s the Czechoslovak Red Cross became a mass organization, as well as a part of the state-controlled healthcare system. The […]
Wooden washboard Hot summer days call for an object linked to water. History of hygiene cannot be separated from the history of medicine and health. The Medical Museum collections include multiple washbasins, chamber pots or toilet sets, as well as a wooden washboard from the Vysočina (Czech-Moravian Highlands) region, dating from the late 1800s. Grooved wooden […]