An exhibit in the NML Medical Museum presents the history of Czechoslovak pedicure from the show factory owner J. A. Baťa and the “Baťa pedicurist” and former medical student František Kocourek to the socialist era. The museum holds many tools, instruments and books on the history of the care for the feet. The exhibit shows […]
Object of the Month: December 2019 Pálava Ingha II Electric Blanket, 1960s The winter season asks for a source of warmth. In 2018, these pages showed an 18 century hot water bottle: this winter we looked for a more recent item to heat the bed and the body, an object that testifies to the growing role of […]
Object of the Month: November 2019 Biocard Electrocardiograph, Chirana Stará Turá, 1980-1990 The portable single channel electrocardiograph Biocard was developed by Chirana Stará Turá in the second half of the 1970s. The international competition and rapid privatization of industry after 1989 put a stop to many promising research and production programs: another project terminated in Stará […]
Object of the Month: October 2019 Stimul 3 Electroacupuncture device Much has been written about acupuncture: the method, avidly embraced by some and deprecated by others, remains a delicate and disputed subject. Acupuncture as a healing practice originatedin China and in the 17 century it was brought to Europe by missionaries. Since the early 20 century, […]
Object of the Month: September 2019 Bezoar Stone: Tricholith Bezoar forms in the hollow organs of the gastrointestinal system – mostly in the stomach, but also in the intestine, the rectum or the oesophagus – of ruminants and exceptionally of humans. Bezoars were extracted from the bowels for pharmaceutical use. The term can be traced […]
Object of the Month: August 2019 Marienbad Earthenware Mineral Water Bottle For the sultry August days we chose a vessel for distributing water: a commodity indispensable to life. Neither the interest in the medical properties of water, nor the enthusiasm for spas begins with modernity: we only need to recall the baths of the Roman era or […]
Bullet-drawer (Kugelzieher) after Garengeot, first half of the 18 century The velocity and force of missiles launched from long-distance weapons grew over the centuries. Fingers, mouth and smith’s tongs served well to pull a simple arrowhead out of the body, one that penetrated bone could be loosened by a drill or a chisel. Medical writers of the Antiquity […]
Diurocit urine testing kit, 1930s Urine testing, together with physical examination and palpation of the pulse, belongs to the oldest methods of medical examination. Uroscopy, diagnosis from observation of color, consistency and visible admixtures of urine, appears already in the 11 century BCE cuneiform “diagnostic textbook.” The method, familiar in antiquity, gained new currency in […]
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 […]