Life & Style | Travel
A chilling body of work
Showcasing limbs, organs and medical equipment, the National Museum of Health and Medicine is a tribute to human anatomy
- By Amy Orndorff, Los Angeles Times-Washington Post News Service
- Published: 00:34 December 1, 2008
Have you ever played the Halloween game in which you are blindfolded and told to stick your hands into bowls that contain eyeballs (peeled grapes), tongues (pickles) and teeth (uncooked popcorn)?
It may not sound convincing but the idea — being so close to things that were once inside a person — is downright creepy.
Morbid medley
It is the same shiver-inducing, stomach-churning sensation one experiences while walking through the National Museum of Health and Medicine in Washington.
This museum, which was established in 1862, has been described by Army Surgeon General William Hammond as a collection of “all specimens of morbid anatomy, surgical or medical, which may be regarded as valuable''.
What Hammond considered valuable can be quite disturbing to those who do not belong to the medical field.
The museum has a collection of human tongues, lungs and bones.
Grim victory
There is also a brain, complete with spinal cord running down an invisible spine, suspended in fluid.
Although some of the exhibits may be on the grim side and not for the squeamish, this is also a museum about the triumphs of medicine, especially that of the military.
From the days of the American Revolution, there has been a constant pursuit of making sure soldiers wounded in battle were healed as completely as possible.
An exhibit on prosthetics features a leg that two prisoners of war secretly fashioned for a third PoW while they were held in a Japanese camp during the Second World War.
The museum also houses the world's largest and most comprehensive collection of microscopes.
It also has the bullet that killed Abraham Lincoln.
A lot of things can go wrong with our bodies. From gunshot wounds to asphyxiation, they all seem to be included in the exhibits.
But after touring the museum, it is easy to come away with a better appreciation of all the things your body does to keep you up and about.
There are two theatres that screen films on medicine and health, including the continuously running documentary Triumph at Carville.
It tells the story of how a colony of people with leprosy and the nuns who took care of them were able to overcome social stigmas related to the disease. It even goes on to show how they also developed a treatment.
Besides the movies and the graphic medical exhibits, the museum also has other benefits. Want your kid to stay away from smoking? An exhibit displays the lungs of a coal miner and an iron miner versus the lung of a smoker.
Lesson of life
Want your children to drink milk so they can build strong bones? There is an exhibit of brittle bones.
Want your kids to appreciate their bodies more? Have them explore the human body, using a computer program called The Visible Human Project.
Information
The entrance to the National Museum of Health and Medicine at Walter Reed Army Medical Centre is located in Georgia Avenue and Elder Street NW, Washington. The museum is in Building 54.
Adults are required to show some proof of identity at the entrance to the campus and the museum.
Visiting hours are 10am-5.30pm daily except on December 25.
Tours are at 1pm on second and fourth Saturdays of each month.
Admission is free. Visit www.nmhm.washingtondc.museum for more information.
More from Travel
Bringing you the world at your doorstep
Popular in Travel
Life & Style editor's choice
-
Ten simple ways to love yourself
Just a few small changes to your day can make a big difference
-
Style story: Make waves with beachwear
Life's a beach in this summer's gorgeous new swimwear
-
2012 Ford Focus: Smashingly good
The all-new Focus turned Imran Malik Hulk-green with rage at one point
Best of web video by GNTV
Popular in Pictures
