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The National Museum of Health and Medicine (NMHM) is a museum in
Silver Spring, Maryland Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially Unincorporated area, unincorporated, it is an edge city with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 ...
, near
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
The museum was founded by U.S. Army Surgeon General William A. Hammond as the Army Medical Museum (AMM) in 1862; it became the NMHM in 1989 and relocated to its present site at the Army's
Forest Glen Annex The Forest Glen Annex is a U.S. Army installation in the Forest Glen Park neighborhood of Silver Spring, Maryland, United States. It is situated between Brookville Road and Linden Lane. Since 1999, the Annex has been the site of the Walter Re ...
in 2012. An element of the
Defense Health Agency The Defense Health Agency (DHA) is a joint, integrated combat support agency that enables the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Air Force medical services to provide a medically ready force and ready medical force to Combatant Commands in both pea ...
(DHA), the NMHM is a member of the National Health Sciences Consortium.


History


19th century

The AMM was established during the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
as a center for the collection of specimens for research in military medicine and surgery. In 1862, Hammond directed medical officers in the field to collect "specimens of morbid anatomy...together with projectiles and foreign bodies removed" and to forward them to the newly founded museum for study. The AMM's first curator, John H. Brinton, visited mid-Atlantic battlefields and solicited contributions from doctors throughout the Union Army. During and after the war, AMM staff took pictures of wounded soldiers showing the effects of gunshot wounds as well as results of amputations and other surgical procedures. The information collected was compiled into six volumes of ''
The Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion {{italic title ''The Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion, 1861–65'' (the ''MSHWR'') was a United States Government Printing Office publication consisting of six volumes, issued between 1870 and 1888 and "prepared Under the ...
'', published between 1870 and 1883.


20th century

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, AMM staff engaged in various types of medical research. They pioneered in photomicrographic techniques, established a library and cataloging system which later formed the basis for the
National Library of Medicine The United States National Library of Medicine (NLM), operated by the United States federal government, is the world's largest medical library. Located in Bethesda, Maryland, the NLM is an institute within the National Institutes of Health. I ...
(NLM), and led the AMM into research on
infectious disease An infection is the invasion of tissue (biology), tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host (biology), host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmis ...
s while discovering the cause of yellow fever. They contributed to research on vaccinations for
typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often th ...
, and during
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, AMM staff were involved in vaccinations and health education campaigns, including major efforts to combat sexually transmissible diseases. By
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, research at the AMM focused increasingly on pathology. In 1946 the AMM became a division of the new Army Institute of Pathology (AIP), which became the
Armed Forces Institute of Pathology The Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) (1862 – September 15, 2011) was a U.S. government institution concerned with diagnostic consultation, education, and research in the medical specialty of pathology. Overview It was founded in ...
(AFIP) in 1949. The AMM's library and part of its archives were transferred to the
National Library of Medicine The United States National Library of Medicine (NLM), operated by the United States federal government, is the world's largest medical library. Located in Bethesda, Maryland, the NLM is an institute within the National Institutes of Health. I ...
when that institution was created in 1956. The AMM became the Medical Museum of the AFIP in 1949, the Armed Forces Medical Museum in 1974, and the NMHM in 1989. During its peak years on the National Mall in the 1960s, every year the museum saw "as many as 400,000 to 500,000 people coming through". But after its moves to increasingly obscure and out-of-the-way sites, it fell into a period of relative neglect. By the 1990s, it was attracting only between 40,000 and 50,000 visitors a year. In 1989,
C. Everett Koop Charles Everett Koop (October 14, 1916 – February 25, 2013) was an American pediatric surgeon and public health administrator who served as the 13th surgeon general of the United States under President Ronald Reagan from 1982 to 1989. According ...
(in his last year as
Surgeon General Surgeon general (: surgeons general) is a title used in several Commonwealth countries and most NATO nations to refer either to a senior military medical officer or to a senior uniformed physician commissioned by the government and entrusted with p ...
) commissioned the "National Museum of Health and Medicine Foundation", a private, nonprofit organization to explore avenues for its future development and revitalization, intending to ultimately returning its collection to a venue on the
National Mall The National Mall is a Landscape architecture, landscaped park near the Downtown, Washington, D.C., downtown area of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. It contains and borders a number of museums of the Smithsonian Institu ...
. Proposed was “a site on land that is located east of and adjacent to the Hubert H. Humphrey Building (100 Independence Avenue, Southwest, in the District of Columbia)”. In 1993, a draft bill authored by Sen.
Edward Kennedy Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts who served as a member of the United States Senate from 1962 to his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic Party and ...
proposed $21.8 million for moving the existing collection to a new facility to be constructed on that site. That bill, however, was never introduced owing to political difficulties including objections from
Constance Breuer Constance may refer to: Places *Constance, Kentucky, United States, an unincorporated community * Constance, Minnesota, United States, an unincorporated community *Mount Constance, Washington State, United States *Lake Constance (disambiguation ...
—widow of
Marcel Breuer Marcel Lajos Breuer ( ; 21 May 1902 – 1 July 1981) was a Hungarian-American modernist architect and furniture designer. He moved to the United States in 1937 and became a naturalized American citizen in 1944. At the Bauhaus he designed the Was ...
, architect of the Humphrey Building—who objected to the view obstruction that the proposed construction would entail. A letter from the Department of Defense to Koop in the mid-1990s, expressed hope that the NMHM exhibits would "one day be provided the appropriate and prominent home they deserve back at the National Mall in the new National Health Museum". The DoD backed away from contributing to funding a new museum. The foundation was superseded by a new organization, dedicated to creating a National Health Museum, that focused on public health education.


2011 move

Due to the closure of Walter Reed Army Medical Center, National Museum of Health and Medicine relocated—for the tenth time—to U.S. Army Garrison-Forest Glen in Silver Spring,
Montgomery County, Maryland Montgomery County is the most populous County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, the county's population was 1,062,061, increasing by 9.3% from 2010. The county seat is Rockville, Maryland ...
. Authority over the Forest Glen garrison was transferred from WRAMC to
Fort Detrick Fort Detrick () is a United States Army Futures Command installation located in Frederick, Maryland. Fort Detrick was the center of the U.S. biological weapons program from 1943 to 1969. Since the discontinuation of that program, it has hosted m ...
in October 2008. The NMHM closed its exhibits on April 3, 2011, and reopened in a new building on May 14, 2012, at Forest Glen. On October 1, 2015, the NMHM became part of the
Defense Health Agency The Defense Health Agency (DHA) is a joint, integrated combat support agency that enables the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Air Force medical services to provide a medically ready force and ready medical force to Combatant Commands in both pea ...
.


Holdings


Major collections

The NMHM embodies five collections consisting of about 25 million artifacts, including 5,000 skeletal specimens, 8,000 preserved organs, 12,000 items of medical equipment, an archive of historic medical documents, and collections related to
neuroanatomy Neuroanatomy is the study of the structure and organization of the nervous system. In contrast to animals with radial symmetry, whose nervous system consists of a distributed network of cells, animals with bilateral symmetry have segregated, defi ...
and developmental anatomy. The museum's most famous artifacts relate to President
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...
and his assassination on April 14, 1865, by
John Wilkes Booth John Wilkes Booth (May 10, 1838April 26, 1865) was an American stage actor who Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, assassinated United States president Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. A member of the p ...
. On display is a copy by sculptor Avarel Fairbanks of Lincoln's
life mask A death mask is a likeness (typically in wax or plaster cast) of a person's face after their death, usually made by taking a cast or impression from the corpse. Death masks may be mementos of the dead or be used for creation of portraits. The ...
and hands made by
Leonard Volk Leonard Wells Volk (November 7, 1828 – August 19, 1895) was an American sculptor. He is notable for making one of only two life masks of United States President Abraham Lincoln. In 1867 he helped establish the Chicago Academy of Design and se ...
in 1860, the bullet fired from the
Deringer Deringer is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Arved Deringer (1913-2011), German lawyer and politician * Henry Deringer Henry Deringer (October 26, 1786 – February 28, 1868) was an American gunsmith A gunsmith is a per ...
pistol which ended the president's life, the probe used by the U.S. Army Surgeon General to locate the bullet during autopsy, pieces of Lincoln's hair and skull, and the autopsy surgeon's shirt cuff, stained with Lincoln's blood. Also on display is a small portion of Booth's spine, surgically removed to dislodge the bullet that killed him after his escape from justice ended at Port Royal, Virginia, fired from Union soldier
Boston Corbett Sergeant Thomas H. "Boston" Corbett (January 29, 1832 – disappeared ) was an English-born American soldier and milliner who killed John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of President Abraham Lincoln on April 26, 1865. Known for his devout religious ...
. Museum collections include: * The Historical Collections document changes in medical technology since the early 19th century. Included in this growing assemblage of more than 12,000 objects are x-ray equipment, microscopes, surgical instruments, numismatics and anatomical models. * The Anatomical Collections are made up of bones and body parts. More than 5,000 skeletal specimens and 10,000 preserved organs document medical cases of disease and injury. * The Otis Historical Archives houses photographs, illustrations, and documents related to health and medicine. More than 350 different collections document, in pictures and words, the practice of medicine from the Civil War to the present. * The Human Developmental Anatomy Center maintains the largest collection of embryologic material in the United States. The center is known for its imaging and 3-D reconstructions of embryo development. * The Neuroanatomical Collections comprise nine different collections focusing on human and non-human neuroanatomy and neuropathology.


Major exhibitions

Source: Museum exhibition Galleries feature several permanent exhibits alongside several rotating displays. In this category, the museum houses a notable holding brought directly from the Middle East, “Trauma Bay II, Balad, Iraq”. The exhibit features a section of the actual emergency room tent used at Balad, Iraq, from 2003 to 2007. These operating theaters throughout Iraq have posting survival rates topping 95%. Arrangements were made to ship these items from Iraq when a visiting US Congressional delegation was moved by the stories they had heard. * ''Anatomy and Pathology'': These specimens provide examples of healthy anatomical structures. Healthy specimens establish a reference point for anatomical study. Comparing healthy specimens with diseased or injured tissues can help illustrate the changes caused by illness and trauma. Understanding these processes is often the first step towards improved prevention and treatment. * ''Collection that Teaches'': The Army Medical Museum, nearly from the time of its founding in 1862, was engaged in an innovative effort to collect, collate and share the lessons of battlefield medicine during the course of the Civil War. * Abraham Lincoln: The Final Casualty of the War: To mark the 200th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln's birth in 2015, NMHM honors the 16th president of the United States with this exhibition of items associated with his last hours and the physicians who cared for him. artifacts. * ''Advances in military medicine'': These exhibits include Object Theater: Meeting Challenges, Generating Innovations; Innovations in Repair, Facial Reconstruction, Surgical Response, Protection, Research, Transportation, Rehabilitation; The Legacy of Walter Reed; and Trauma Bay II, Balad, Iraq, which offers a view inside a former Air Force tent hospital in
Balad, Iraq Balad (), also transliterated ''Beled'' or ''Belad'', is a city in Saladin Governorate, Iraq, north of the national capital, Baghdad. It is the capital of Balad District, Iraq, Balad District. Located in Iraq's volatile Sunni Triangle, between th ...
. Past exhibits include * To Bind Up the Nation's Wounds: Medicine During the Civil War shows Civil War medicine from the perspective of battlefield surgeons and the stories of Union and Confederate sick and wounded. * Evolution of the Microscope displays collections in tracing the development of the basic tool of the bioscientist over the last 400 years. * Battlefield Surgery 101: From the Civil War to Vietnam, exclusively from the museum's historical archives and historical collections, presents military surgical activities over the last 140 years through a selection of photographs and 19th- and 20th-century * * Resolved: Advances in Forensic Identification of U.S. War Dead highlights forensic sciences in the nation's commitment to the identification and commemoration of U.S. service members.


Programs offered

The museum offers programs on topics in medical, scientific, and historical subjects. It is for children and adults. * Public Programs * Tours * Brain Awareness Week


Location and hours

The museum is located at 2500 Linden Lane in
Silver Spring, Maryland Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially Unincorporated area, unincorporated, it is an edge city with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 ...
, one mile outside the
District of Columbia Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...
. It is open from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday except
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...
, and admission is free.


See also

*
Army Medical Museum and Library The Army Medical Museum and Library (AMML) of the U.S. Army was a large brick building constructed in 1887 at South B Street (now Independence Avenue) and 7th Street, SW, Washington, D.C., which is directly on the National Mall. It was desig ...
*
United States Army Medical Department Museum The U.S. Army Medical Department Museum — or AMEDD Museum — at Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas, originated as part of the Army's Field Service School at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. It moved to Fort Sam Houston in 1946. It is curren ...
*
Daniel Sickles's leg The amputated right lower leg of Union Army general Daniel Sickles, lost after a cannonball wound suffered at the Battle of Gettysburg on July 2, 1863, is displayed at the National Museum of Health and Medicine. Sickles was a former New York p ...


References


Further reading

Julia B. Rosenbaum. "What Means This Carnage?": Civil War Soldiers' Bodies, Recuperative Projects, and the Army Medical Museum." ''
The Art Bulletin The College Art Association of America (CAA) is the principal organization in the United States for professionals in the visual arts, from students to art historians to emeritus faculty. Founded in 1911, it "promotes these arts and their understan ...
'' 105, no. 4 (December 2023): pages 64–87.


External links


The National Museum of Health and Medicine official website

Defense Health Agency, J-9 Research and Development, National Museum of Health and Medicine website

BrainMuseum.org – a partnership of the University of Wisconsin and Michigan State Comparative Mammalian Brain Collections and the National Museum of Health and Medicine

James G. Mundie's photographs from The National Museum of Health and Medicine

C-SPAN American History TV Tour of the National Museum of Health and Medicine's Civil War Collection

C-SPAN American History TV Tour of the museum looking at 'Medical History'
{{DEFAULTSORT:National Museum Of Health And Medicine 1862 establishments in Washington, D.C. 2011 establishments in Maryland Buildings and structures in Silver Spring, Maryland Forest Glen Annex Medical museums in the United States Military and war museums in Maryland Military medicine in the United States Museums established in 1862 Museums in Montgomery County, Maryland Science museums in Maryland