A free museum and library exploring the science and humanity of medicine at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
Sign up to our newsletter www.rcpe.ac.uk/newsletter
Physicians' Gallery
Loading...
We're hiring!
We're looking for a Project Library Cataloguer to catalogue our modern (post-1900) library collections
Find out more 👉 www.rcpe.ac.uk/college/proj...
From mythical creatures to the natural world to alchemical experiments, this blog delves into symbols present in our collections to reveal their queer significance
www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/her...
The mortars and pestles used by doctors and apothecaries who made large quantities of medicines as part of their work could be very large. This mortar and pestle weighs over 16 kilograms (two and a half stone)
This object is on display in our Gallery 👉 www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/phy...
This image shows the first blood transfusion into a human - by Jean-Baptiste Denys in 1667.
Two men died in these trials and public opinion quickly turned against transfusion. 200 years passed before transfusion began to be accepted again.
Find out more in Rag👉 www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/rag...
Leech jars like this one could be found in the windows of apothecary shops across 1800s Europe. A jar this size could hold up to 250 leeches. Their water needed to be changed regularly, and the leeches needed to be whisked to keep them moving
Find out more in Rag👉 www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/rag...
'Nocturnal pollutions...' learnt from a rascal of an English man. Example of 18thc medical treatment of masturbation cullenproject.ac.uk/docs/1795/
Elizabeth Blackwell was a talented 18thc Scottish botanical artist who had a difficult life and an even more difficult husband, who she supported from debtors prison to accusations of high treason.
Discover more: rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/eli...
By the 1890s, aware of the role of germs in disease transmission, surgeons began to regularly wear fabric masks and caps in operating theatres. In textbooks these were sometimes called ‘mouth bandages’ or ‘surgical face veils’
These are on display in our Gallery 👉 www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/phy...
Happy International Day of the Midwife!
Glasgow was the first place in the UK to examine & license women to practice midwifery. Our College set up the midwifery exam in 1740. These minutes show the first to qualify - Helen Baxter, Elizabeth Boyd, Mary Dinning & Jean Scott #IDM2026
#OTD 1912, 313 years after our College was founded, Jamini Sen became our 1st female Fellow. Sen was an advocate for better working conditions for female doctors & improved access to care for female patients in India. Her portrait by Grace Payne-Kumar, is the 1st of a woman to hang in College Hall
