Medicine/Behavioral Science

An online version of Vannever Bush's article "As We May Think" in The Atlantic Monthly, July 1945. The article, all text with a few links added, discusses the recent past and future of science and technology at the end of World War II. It is written for a general audience. Aghast at the horror of what science wrought in the war, Bush looks to a more peaceful and productive day when advanced technologies will offer a better life for all human beings. He envisions a machine akin to the modern fax machine as well as other beneficial consumer and industrial technologies.

John Baptist Porta (1535-1615), also known as Giambattista della Porta, was an early modern natural philosopher from Naples. This site by an amateur historian brings together short biographies (generally culled from other sites and works like the Encyclopedia Britannica) as well as primary source material on Porta available in other locations on the Web. Porta was best known for his 1558 book entitled "Natural Magic" (Magia Naturalis), which used an experimental method to describe magnetism and other elements of the physical and chemical sciences. He was also interested in the "occult" sciences and alchemy. This site is best for those with no knowledge of Porta looking for a basic overview and excerpts of his work. Several paintings and drawings of Porta enhance the site.

This site is an online catalogue for one of the most famous science museums in Europe, located in Florence. Its collections are mostly from the early modern period (roughly 1500-1800), with a particular emphasis on Galileo, his inventions and related materials from his lifetime. A room-by-room map of the museum allows visitors to view dozens of drawings, paintings and photographs of early astronomical, medical, mathematical, chemical and engineering instruments. There is also a virtual video tour of the Galileo room and accompanying photographs of his telescopes and other memorabilia. The site is written in non-technical bilingual form (English and Italian). Short biographies of important early modern Italian scientists and a multitude of links to other history of science and technology sites in many languages are included.

This site, produced by the Massachusetts General Hospital, examines the history of the first anesthesia, ether. Discovered as an aid to sedate patients in the middle of the nineteenth century, its use was heralded as a breakthrough which would lead to a new, better age of surgery. The 7 short essays on this site, written for a general audience, discuss the discovery of ether, the doctors involved, its use at Massachusetts General Hospital, and the subsequent history and future of anesthesiology. A few photographs and drawings of related materials are included.

This site, produced by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, displays a timeline of events relating to the development and use of cardiac replacement therapy (CRT), beginning in the 1960s with the early efforts of the Artificial Heart Program by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, and concluding with the latest artificial heart implants. The site is especially interested in gathering the recollections of the mechanical engineers, surgeons and others who have been involved in CRT research and applications. Forms are available to add comments and stories to the existing timeline of events.

The Iconographic Archives are a project of the University of Bologna's International Centre for the History of Universities and Science (CIS). The Archives are an online repository for images of people, artifacts, and places with corresponding descriptions and location information. The University, founded in 1088, has a long history as a center for scientific scholarship, and these images reflect this relationship. Though the CIS site is available in English, the archival information is in Italian, requiring some knowledge of the language to utilize the search functions. Searches can be made by year to circumvent this. Unfortunately, there also is no way to browse the images without using the search tool.

Contains an account of the life and work of Albrecht Von Haller, with bibliography. Site is entirely in German.

This site gives some brief information about the Australian Academy of Science and provides a description of manuscripts housed in the Academy's Basser Library. The site also contains an alphabetical index of the materials in the manuscript collection, which could be an important planning tool for researchers interested in taking a trip to the Library to do research with the papers first-hand. However, the actual manuscripts have not been made available online, so there is no historical information beyond the descriptions and index.

A number of online exhibits are made including several on Yale's history with medicine, one on stem cells, and another about the hospitals of New Haven. A catalog of the library's literature is available, and includes several texts available online. The digital library also includes several collections of prints and photographs including 83 nineteenth century paintings by Lam Qua of patients with tumors. There are also images of collections of weights and measures, obstetrical instruments, and medical medals. Comprehensive lists of databases and Internet resources, as well bibliographies are compiled.

Website maintained by The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, an organization began in 1787 to provide education about and improve public health. Contains general information about the College Gallery and the Mutter Museum. Several former exhibits are reproduced online, such as "Emerging Infectious Diseases: Ancient Scourge and Modern Menace" and "When the Patient is the President." A database cataloging their historical OB-GYN instrument collection makes available images and descriptions of over 1,200 tools. The College's library catalog is also online. A link to Philadelphia-related health information is provided as well.