Medicine
General -- Advertising -- African Americans in Medicine -- American Medical Association -- Ancient Medicine -- Anesthesia -- Diseases/Epidemics -- AIDS -- Cancer -- Leprosy -- Diabetes -- Influenza -- Early Modern -- Film/Radio -- Health Physics -- Homeopathy -- Hospitals, Sanitariums -- Image Collections-- Medical Education -- Medical Instruments -- Medieval Medicine -- Millitary -- National Institutes of Health -- Native Americans -- Nursing -- War -- Women
Medical Heritage Library. Information about the Medical Heritage Library. Major subcollections include:
- Historical Medical Periodicals (largely 1797-1923)
- State Medical Journals Collection
- National Institutes of Health Library
Medical History of British India: National Library of Scotland – 426 reports related to disease, public health, and medical research from 1850 to 1950.
Pre-1800 English, Scottish, Irish, and American Items: National Library of Medicine – A collection of monographs, advertisements, case reports, and other documents from England, Scotland, Ireland, and America produced before 1800
Literature, Arts & Medicine Database is an "annotated bibliography of prose, poetry, film, video and art." Can be searched by author (and for physician, men, women authors, and authors of some ethnic groups), title, genre, era, added keyword, free text. Links are given for fulltext and author information where available.
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Digital Collections
Here Today, Here Tomorrow... Varieties of Medical Ephemera
Cushing/Whitney Medical Digital Library (Yale)-- List of collections
Historical Medical Poster Collection: Cushing-Whitney Medical Library, Yale University- public health communications, medical product advertising, aid and relief solicitations
Evanion Catalogue of Victorian Ephemera: British Library - contains approximately 5,000 items, advertisements, trade cards and catalogues, novelties, envelopes and even paper bags. Subjects include clothing, food and drink, patent medicines, kitchen equipment and domestic appliances, and a wide range of products and services.
Medicine and Madison Avenue: Duke University Libraries Digital Collections - Over 600 advertising items and publications dating from 1850 to 1920
Opening Doors: Contemporary African American Academic Surgeons
Digital Collection of Historical AMA Documents: American Medical Association Historical Archives – More than 230 titles including Digests of Official Actions 1846-1978), Transactions of the American Medical Association (1847-1882) , House of Delegates Proceedings (1883-1962) , and Historical Monographs
Medicina Antiqua (University College London) offers translations of Graeco-Roman medical works
The John W. Pender Collection of the Living History of Anesthesiology: The Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology – collection of oral history interviews with pioneers and leaders in the field of anesthesiology
Nuffield Department of Anesthetics Training Videos: Wellcome Library - Films relating to the administration of anaesthesia made by the Nuffield Department of Anaesthetics, Oxford, mid-1940s.
Rare Book Collection: The Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology - digitized copies of rare historic books on anesthesiology
The Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology – images and descriptions of objects and instruments related to the history of anesthesiology
Contagion: Historical Views of Diseases and Epidemics: Harvard University Library Open Collections Program - Contains digitized copies of books, serials, pamphlets, incunabula, and manuscripts—a total of more than 500,000 pages—many of which contain visual materials, such as plates, engravings, maps, charts, broadsides, and other illustrations which document the history of medicine and epidemiology
COVID in the Collections offers images of pestilence in the Harvard Art Museums
World Health Organization Historical Collection – Contains rare books on malaria, plague, smallpox, and epidemiology, and documents relating to the history of the WHO and other international health organizations such as the League of Nations Health Organization
In response to the AIDS crisis: records of the National Commission on Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, 1983-1994 includes briefing books, hearing and meeting transcripts, reports, and press clippings from the National Library of Medicine
In Their Own Words: NIH Researchers Recall the Early Years of AIDS: National Institutes of Health Office of History – Images, documents, and oral history interview transcripts documenting the early years of the HIV/AIDS pandemic
AIDS Posters: UCLA Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library – 625 posters from 44 countries. Issued by a variety of institutions to educate and warn people about AIDS
AIDS Posters: Wellcome Digital Collections Search AIDS
Jon Cohen AIDS Research Collection (Univ. of Michigan)
National Cancer Institute Visuals Online – images from the collections of the Office of Communications and Public Liaison, National Cancer Institute
Cholera Online, 1817-1900: National Library of Medicine – More than 500 reports, studies, petitions, and other documents regarding cholera published around the world in the 19th century
John Snow Archive and Research Companion – The writings, publications, and presentations of English physician and epidemiologist, John Snow
John Snow: UCLA Department of Epidemiology – This website dedicated to the life of English physician and epidemiologist John Snow contains John Snow’s writings as well as epidemiological maps, including Snow’s map of the 1854 Broad Street cholera outbreak
The Discovery and Early Development of Insulin: University of Toronto Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library - Documents the initial period of the discovery and development of insulin, 1920-1925, at the University of Toronto. Over seven thousand page images reproducing original documents, from laboratory notebooks and charts, correspondence, writings, and published papers to photographs, awards, clippings, scrapbooks, printed ephemera and artifacts.
1918 Influenza Digital Archive (Univ. of Michigan) offers primary sources and interpretive materials.
Images from the History of Leprosy: Global Project on the History of Leprosy - a variety of images from the history of leprosy
Database from the Global Project on the History of Leprosy - Archives of documents detailing the history of leprosy
Casebooks of Simon Forman and Richard Napier-- Around 1600, these two medical practitioners produced one of the largest surviving sets of medical records in history. "Medical" here is often referred to as "astrology" and involves both "divination" and "angelic consultation."
Health films in Internet Archive (41)
Medical Movies on the Web: National Library of Medicine – Nearly 7,000 titles from the Silent Era to the present, covering a broad range of medical and health-related topics
Moving Image: National Library of Medicine Digital Collections - Collection of nearly 200 health-related films
Film and Sound: Wellcome Digital Collections - offers digitised films and recordings covering all aspects of 20th century healthcare and medicine, and stills from films
NYAM Lectures Broadcast by WNYC: New York Academy of Medicine - 40 lectures on medicine and society that NYAM produced and WNYC-FM broadcast in the 1950s
Video History of Medicine in Canada - interviews with Canada’s foremost physicians, most conducted by historian Michael Bliss
Health Physics Historical Instrumentation Museum (Oak Ridge Associated Universities)
Early Homeopathy in the United States (Drexel)
Homeopathy Collection (Univ. of Michigan) Mid-19th century to present
The Voluntary Hospitals Database-- contains statistical data on over 1,300 hospitals in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.
Postcard Collection: Cushing-Whitney Medical Library, Yale University – Postcards of medical institutions in Connecticut: general hospitals, private hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, sanatoria, and the Yale School of Medicine. Most 1900-1940
Wellcome Images - 170 000 historical and contemporary images, covering medical and social history, contemporary healthcare and biomedical science. All of the images are available for free;. Search for your topic, then limit to Formats: Pictures
National Library of Medicine: Images from the History of Medicine – 70,000 digitized images of the approximate 100,000 items from the U.S. National Library of Medicine’s prints and photographs collection
National Library of Medicine (NLM), Online Exhibitions & Digital Projects
Great Basin History of Medicine Photo Archives-- Photographs of Nevada medical institutions, 19th-century frontier military medicine. Nevada doctors, nurses, dentists, and veterinarians.
Digital Library: The College of Physicians of Philadelphia – An image database of nearly 1,000 images with strengths in the history of anatomy and botanical medicine. Highlights include images from rare incunabula previously unavailable online, unusual selections from more popular early modern anatomists, and over 300 photos from the Philadelphia General Hospital Photograph Collectio
Yale School of Medicine Collection: Cushing-Whitney Medical Library, Yale University– photographs of Yale medical classes, deans, departmental chairs and other faculty, departmental photographs, and buildings and other facilities
Iconographie photographique de la Salpêtrière (Cushing-Whitney Medical Library, Yale University) – Images from the three volume Iconographie photographique de la Salpêtrière, a landmark in medical photography and neurology. Charcot's hospital.
Key Collections: The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh Surgeons’ Hall Museums – Images and descriptions of selected items from the museum’s key collections
Prints and Drawings: Cushing-Whitney Medical Library, Yale University
The Osler Library Prints Collection: Osler Library of the History of Medicine, McGill University – Ranging from the 17th to the 20th century, prints, photographs, drawings, posters, and cartoons. Medical professionals throughout history are represented largely through portraiture caricatures.
Yearbooks from Medical Colleges, Nursing Schools, and Allied Health Programs: Drexel University College of Medicine - The Drexel Med Legacy Center has digitized all of the yearbooks it holds from its predecessor institutions
Medical Instruments/Technology
Museum of Historical Medical Artifacts
Medical Artifact Collection: Western University - Pictures and descriptions of 1000 artefacts, which represent the practice and teaching of health and medicine in south-western Ontario. It includes cardiology, opthalmology, dentistry, pharmacology, surgery, homeopathy, obstetrics, phlebotomy, veterinary and military medicine, microscopy, anatomy, and alternative medicine from late eighteenth to late twentieth centuries.
Medical Instruments and Artifacts: Cushing-Whitney Medical Library, Yale University –Primarily 19th and early 20th century medical instruments and artifacts with some Roman, Chinese, and 17th and 18th century objects
Museum of Health Care at Kingston – The research collection contains images and descriptions of the museum’s 35,000+ artifacts, from surgical tools to laboratory instruments, 18th century to the present
The Royal College of Surgeons of England – The SurgiCat online catalogue contains pictures and descriptions of the more than 50,000 objects found in the Royal College’s two museums, the Hunterian Museum and the Wellcome Museum. Includes anatomical models and surgical and dental instruments.
History of Medicine Artifacts Collection – More than 100 images of medical artifacts owned by the Duke Medical Center Library & Archives
History of Medicine Artifacts Collection, 1550-1980s: David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Duke University - historical medical instruments and artifacts, art objects, realia, and other three-dimensional objects, primarily originating from Europe and the United States, but including some artifacts from China and Japan. Ranging from the late 16thto late 20th centuries
Edgar R. McGuire Historical Medical Instrument Collection: University at Buffalo Libraries – Images and descriptions of more than 150 instruments or sets of instruments illustrating past medical and dental procedures
Artifact Collection: The Bakken Museum Largely electrical medical devices, 18th century to present. Note Browse at top of screen.
Pioneers of the Medical Device Industry in Minnesota Oral History Project
The MacKinney Collection of Medieval Medical Illustrations: UNC Chapel Hill
Index of Medieval Medical Images: UCLA Library Digital Collections
National Institutes of Health (US)
NIH Almanac Historical Data contains pertinent facts about the National Institutes of Health (2015- )
National Institutes of Health Almanac, 1970-2000
National Institutes of Health Office of History – Photographs and images of objects from the collections of the National Institutes of Health Office of History Archival Collections
National Institutes of Health Office of History – Selected image collections
NIH Oral and Collected Histories
Native Voices: Interviews with health professionals, community leaders, traditional healers, and others working to improve the health of native peoples.
Native Health Database, 1969- offers numerous government reports
History of Nursing in Pacific Canada: UBC Library Digital Collections – Focuses on British Columbia and Yukon, includes reports written by public health nurses in British Columbia, 1924-1939; a Report of the Study Committee on Public Health (1950) also known as the Baillie-Creelman Report that was a classic textbook for nurses; a Report of proceedings of the annual convention of the British Columbia Hospitals' Association, 1918-1931; and other materials
Yale School of Nursing Collections: Cushing-Whitney Medical Library, Yale University –includes Yale School of Nursing images and Yale School of Nursing Alumni Newsletters and Magazines
Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale Letters Collection: University of Illinois at Chicago University Library – Collection of 9 letters written by and to Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale Letters: Clendening History of Medicine Library at the University of Kansas - includes 39 letters, with more letters coming soon
Florence Nightingale Letters: UBC Library Digital Collections – Collection of 203 letters
Florence Nightingale Museum – The online catalogue includes images of documents as well as objects with descriptions from the life of Florence Nightingale.
The Florence Nightingale Digitization Project: An International Digital Collaborative (The Florence Nightingale Museum, Boston University, The Royal College of Nursing, Wellcome Library) - A collaborative database consisting currently of almost 1900 letters handwritten or narrated by Florence Nightingale. The letters cover topics such as patient care, hospital design, infection control and many other subjects
Medical Services and Warfare (1850-1927) focuses on the Crimean War, the US Civil War and World War I.
Books & Documents from the U.S. Army Medical Department's Office of Medical History: WWI through Iraq
Civil War Photographs: Cushing-Whitney Medical Library, Yale University - Enlarged photographs of individual soldiers who were treated at Harewood Hospital in Washington D.C. during the Civil War. Depict soldiers recovering from a variety of wounds. Soldiers' case histories included on the back of many of the photographs
United States Sanitary Commission Records
National Museum of Civil War Medicine
World War I: Medicine in the War
The Medical Department of the United States Army in the World War
Archives for the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
Civil War Photographs: Cushing-Whitney Medical Library, Yale University - Enlarged photographs of individual soldiers who were treated at Harewood Hospital in Washington D.C. during the Civil War. Depict soldiers recovering from a variety of wounds. Soldiers' case histories included on the back of many of the photographs
Medicine and World War 1, 1914-1918- documents in the National Library of Medicine
Medicine and World War 2, 1939-1949: A collection of U.S. government documents (National Library of Medicine) offers federal, state, and local government publications, including are government reports, first aid manuals, informational pamphlets, and recruitment materials.
The Public Health Film Goes to War: National Library of Medicine
Women's Studies Archive includes the subcollection Women and Health/Mental Health (1965 to 1974) which offers pamphlets, speeches, newsletters, reports, memos, conference papers, mainstream and alternative newspaper stories, and academic journal articles. Also includes special issues of mass periodicals on women's health topics. Select Collections on the upper right
Archives for Women in Medicine: Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School – letters, photographs, research records, and other materials documenting the ongoing evolution of women’s contributions in medicine
Dr. June Klinghoffer: Drexel University College of Medicine - Oral history interview with Dr. June Klinghoffer, 1945 graduate of Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania
Japanese Woodblock Print Collection: UCSF - This collection of Japanese woodblock prints illustrates a wide variety of health-related topics, providing a window into traditional Japanese attitudes toward illness, the human body, women, religion, and the West
Margaret Sanger Papers Project
Women Physicians 1850s-1970s: Drexel University College of Medicine -correspondence, scrapbooks, clippings, college records, images, diaries, publications and ephemera documenting the history of women physicians beginning with the first medical school for women, Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania, founded in 1850
American Women's History: A Research Guide: Women in Medical Field
Streaming Media: Sophia Smith Collection, Women’s History Archives at Smith College – Oral history interviews and films related to women’s health
World Heath Organization
WHO Library: IRIS: Institutional Repository for Information Sharing
– Contains publications on malaria, plague, smallpox, and epidemiology, and documents relating to the history of the WHO and other international health organizations such as the League of Nations Health Organization