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The imperative of preserving the historical records of science has long been appreciated by scholars in many fields (e.g. Medicine, chemistry, mathematics, physics, and, more recently, nuclear physics and biochemistry). Medicine and chemistry conspicuously have led the way in building impressive centers of history. The science of nutrition had no center of history until 1975, when Vanderbilt University created "An Accessible Archives of Human Experience in Nutrition", consisting of an extensive collection of monographs on the history of nutrition, 15th century-20th century, and an archive of the personal papers of nutrition scientists.

The various collections of the History & Special Collections Division support the study of the history of medicine and biology. Collections consist of books, journals, manuscript, prints, portraits, and medical artifacts. For further assistance in locating manuscripts, prints, portraits, or other artifacts, please inquire in the division.

Many of the 39 Florence Nightingale letters, including two recent purchases, have been acquired through the generosity of the University of Kansas Nurses Alumni Association.

The American Institute of the History of Pharmacy is a non-profit national organization devoted to advancing knowledge and understanding of the place of pharmacy in history.
The mission of the American Institute of the History of Pharmacy is to contribute to the understanding of the development of civilization by fostering the creation, preservation, and dissemination of knowledge concerning the history and related humanistic aspects of the pharmaceutical field.

The Institute of the History of Medicine is a center for advanced studies dedicated to promoting scholarship on the history of medicine, disease, and the health sciences and their relationship to society. In addition, the Institute seeks to bring historical perspectives to bear on contemporary health issues. Established in the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 1929 by Dr. William H. Welch, the Institute provides scholars interested in the history of medicine with resources and a collegial intellectual environment in which to pursue their research interests. The Institute supports a permanent faculty, which make up the Department of the History of Medicine, graduate students, and an annually appointed group of visiting faculty and postdoctoral fellows. Each year this community of scholars participates in seminars, conferences, and symposia designed to explore specific themes and issues in the history of medicine.

The history of prosthetics and amputation surgery begins at the very dawning of human medical thought. Its historical twists and turns parallel the development of medical science, culture, and civilization itself

Many articles have been written about John Snow in the past half century. Eventually, all will appear here for distribution as PDF files to historians, teachers, students or other interested persons.

[Links to] General--Getting Started, Surgeons, Hospitals, Resources--Books Documents and Images, Nurses and Nursing, Others Related Links

Two great curses haunted natural childbirth from ancient times, the shrunken pelvis and obstructed labour. With urbanization and hospitalization, puerperal fever became common. Because so often mothers died in childbirth and children in infancy, attitudes towards birth and babies were different from ours. Parents expected that children would die in infancy, and death in childbirth was an expected tragedy.

The ChiMed web site is managed by an international group of scholars who study the history of medicine in China. We hope it will serve as an electronic clearinghouse where people with similar interests can meet to exchange information and ideas.