Gallery: Rare, Beautiful and Disturbing Objects From the National Library of Medicine
01atlas-of-topographic-anatomy
Buried in the National Library of Medicine's collection of more than 17 million items are some pretty amazing, largely unseen objects from around the world. These rare and fascinating pieces range from historically significant texts to grotesque depictions of skin ailments to hilarious cartoon warnings about infectious diseases. The mesmerizing new book [*Hidden Treasure*](http://www.blastbooks.com/hidden_treasure.html) is filled with images of these objects that are beautiful, enlightening or disturbing, and sometimes all three. The highlights include Hitler's medical records, detailed graphic depictions of early-20th-century surgical techniques, a Russian book of clinical dermatology from 1887, and a report from the first medical responders to enter Hiroshima after the bomb. Here are some of our favorite items from the book. __Above:__ *Atlas of Topographic Anatomy*, 1911 ------------------------------------ __Eugène-Louis Doyen with J.-P. Bouchon and R. Doyen; heliotypes by E. Le Deley__ This amazing book is filled with photographs of human bodies that had been scientifically mummified and then sawed into slices to reveal the anatomy within. The process, which Parisian surgeon Eugène-Louis Doyen dubbed megatomy, was a radical departure from existing anatomical studies. His work was a precursor to today's popular [Body Worlds](http://www.bodyworlds.com/en.html) exhibitions of plastinated slices of human cadavers, though Doyen's attempts to publicly present images of his anatomical slices were met with protests.
02hitler-as-seen-by-his-doctors
*Hitler as Seen by His Doctors*, 1945 – 46 ------------------------------------------ __Military Intelligence Service Center, United States Army, European Theater__ This is one of five known X-rays of Hitler's head, part of his medical records compiled by American military intelligence after the German's surrendered and declassified in 1958. The records also include doctor's reports, diagrams of his teeth and nose and electrocardiograms.
03clinical-collection-on-dermatology-and-syphilology
*Clinical Collection on Dermatology and Syphilology*, 1886 – 90 --------------------------------------------------------------- __Nikolai Porfir’evich Mansurov__ *Clinical Collection 2*, published in 1887, carried an article on “hairy people” inspired by Mansurov’s encounter with an actual case of polytrichia. Its cover featured a wood engraving of a “hairy man.”
04symptoms-in-schizophrenia
*Symptoms in Schizophrenia*, ca. 1930 ------------------------------------- __James D. Page__ This silent motion picture documented symptoms of schizophrenia using 18 patients, revealing the lack of understanding of the cause and nature of the disease at the time. The origins of schizophrenia are still poorly understood today.
05experimental-surgery-drawings
*Experimental Surgery Drawings*, 1929 – 30 ------------------------------------------ __William P. Didusch__ The image above is William Didusch’s drawing (1929) of W. M. Firor’s operation to suture two dogs together at the neck, connecting the jugular vein of one to the carotid artery of the other, and vice versa.
06huber-the-tuber-a-story-of-tuberculosis
*Huber the Tuber, a Story of Tuberculosis*, 1943 ------------------------------------------------ __Harry A. Wilmer__ This illustrated book was created for the National Tuberculosis Association by Harry Wilmer, who was at the time recovering from tuberculosis himself. The cautionary book chronicles the adventures of an anthropomorphic tubercle in The Promised Land o' Lung. In the image above, Huber the Tuber and his associates ride cough droplets to their next human victim.
07complete-study-of-human-anatomy
*Complete Study of Human Anatomy*, 1831 – 54 -------------------------------------------- __Jean-Baptiste Marc Bourgery, illustrations by Nicolas-Henri Jacob__ The authors of this book insisted on depicting their models as idealized and beautiful. In the image above, a fastidious combination of straps and bandages compresses the patient’s facial arteries, and three different angles of an instrument made to exert pressure on the carotid are shown.
08easy-to-get
*Easy to Get*, 1947 ------------------- __Army Pictorial Service, Signal Corps (Official Training Film T.F.8 1423)__ This film was part of the military's wartime campaign against venereal disease. This particular film was directed specifically at black soldiers and portrays women as invariably promiscuous and men as lacking any sort of self control.
09the-epitome
*The Epitome*, 1543 ------------------- __Andreas Vesalius__ *The Epitome* was an 18-page complete book of human anatomy that acted as a sort of executive summary for his more thorough *De humani corporis fabrica*, the foundational text of modern anatomy. Above is the "figure of the muscles."
10international-nurse-uniform-photograph-collection
*International Nurse Uniform Photograph Collection*, ca. 1950 ------------------------------------------------------------- __Helene Fuld Health Foundation__ The Helene Fuld Health Foundation produced this collection of photographs of nurses' uniforms from around the world. The countries represented in this image are from left to right, top to bottom: Philippines, Denmark, British Honduras; Hong Kong, Madeira, Kenya; Nepal, Dominican Republic, Colombia.
11the-anatomy-of-the-human-body
*The Anatomy of the Human Body*, 1386; copied mid-1400s ------------------------------------------------------- __Mansur ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Yusuf ibn Ilyas__ The skeleton depicted above from this early book of anatomy is viewed from the back with the head hyperextended so that the mouth is at the top of the page — a posture suggestive of a dissection table. Squatting figures such as this were the dominant model for anatomical illustration in the Islamic world until the introduction of European models.
12whites-physiological-manikin
*White’s Physiological Manikin*, 1886 ------------------------------------- __James T. White & Co.__ This life-sized fold-out model of the human body was marketed for at least 20 years. The manikin’s flaps correspond to lecture topics such as the circulatory system, the brain and nervous system, the skeleton and muscles, venereal disease and the physiology of reproduction (male and female), first aid, and the dangers of corseting (visible in the far right).
