Musée d’Histoire de la Médecine -- July 17

After a class on nutrition trends in France (most of which I've talked about in earlier entries in the blog, so I won't repeat here), we took another field trip to the Musée d’Histoire de la Médecine or the Museum of the History of Medicine (https://u-paris.fr/musee-de-lhistoire-de-la-medecine/). This museum was off-the-beaten path, and one that most visitors to Paris have probably never heard of -- but, if you're studying Health & Healthcare in France like we are, this place is a "must visit." 

 

We had the most wonderful tour guide, and I'm sure I won't do her stories justice, but I'll share some of my take-aways here. 

Our tour started in the Egyptian era and went up through the late 1800s and early 1900s.  The history she shared wasn't just in France, but rather, included some of the earliest artifacts in medicine generally. 

As soon as it was clear that infection could be stopped by amputating certain body parts, prosthetics were born.  Here's one of the earliest prototypes of a prosthetic hand. 

Need to stop the bleeding from an operation?  Well, all you have to do is heat up these tools and use them to cauterize any wound....without anesthesia, of course! 

Wonder what early stethoscopes looked like? Here are some examples -- from the most rudimentary to slightly more developed. 

 

Without photographs to help physicians learn what specific diseases looked like, training in the 18th and 19th century had to rely on models made out of wax like the ones seen here of all possible eye diseases. 

Thankfully, in the late 1800s, anesthesia was finally invented -- but, even back then, it was a very complex process and operating system. 

And, without formaldehyde, preservation of organs, etc. was more difficult -- so, how about a table instead? 

Overall, the museum was a little bit creepy and a whole lot fascinating -- and made for a very interesting afternoon of learning. 

As I've mentioned before, the focus on sustainability and the environment here in France is huge. This focus even extends to clothing -- the vintage clothing market is booming. I happened by one of the biggest -- Kilo Shop (https://www.kilo-shop.com/) on the way home for the museum and I was struck by this messaging. I found found that the discussions of climate change and how they are tied to our health in ways large and small are much more pronounced here than I hear day-to-day at home.   

Until tomorrow...