Siriraj Hospital (; ) is the oldest and largest
public hospital
A public hospital, or government hospital, is a hospital which is government owned and is predominantly funded by the government and operates predominantly off the money that is collected from taxpayers to fund healthcare initiatives. In almost al ...
in
Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...
,
Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
on the west bank of the
Chao Phraya River
The Chao Phraya River is the major river in Thailand, with its low alluvial plain forming the centre of the country. It flows through Bangkok and then into the Gulf of Thailand.
Etymology
Written evidence of the river being referred to by the ...
, opposite
Thammasat University
Thammasat University (TU; ; , ) is a public university, public research university in Thailand with campuses in the Tha Phra Chan area of Bangkok, Rangsit, Pattaya and Lampang Province. , Thammasat University has over 39,000 students enrolled in ...
's Tha Phrachan campus. It is the primary teaching hospital of the
Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University
Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University () is the oldest and largest medical school and the oldest of any kind of university faculty in Thailand. The faculty is now part of Mahidol University. Founded in 1889, the faculty was run ...
at Bangkok.
Description
With a capacity of more than 2,000 beds and visited by more than three million patients per year Siriraj is one of the largest and busiest medical centers in
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
. The medical school accepts about 250 medical students and more than 100 for postgraduate residency training each year. Siriraj is the largest public hospital in Thailand. The hospital is generally regarded as one of the final referral centers for complicated and rare diseases from all hospitals in Thailand.
The logo of the Siriraj Hospital is the
Naga curled into a shape of "ศ" (pronounce as "Sor-Sala"), the first Thai alphabet of the hospital name with the Royal Diadem on top of the Naga.
History

The hospital was founded by
King Chulalongkorn in 1888, two years after a worldwide
cholera
Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...
outbreak. It is named after the king's 18-month-old son, Prince
Siriraj Kakudhabhand, who had died from
dysentery
Dysentery ( , ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications may include dehyd ...
a year before the opening of the hospital. The medical school was established two years later in 1890.
Prince
Dipangkorn Rasmijoti was also born here.
Siriraj was the residence of the late King of Thailand,
Bhumibol Adulyadej
Bhumibol Adulyadej (5 December 192713 October 2016), titled Rama IX, was King of Thailand from 1946 until Death and funeral of Bhumibol Adulyadej, his death in 2016. His reign of 70 years and 126 days is the longest of any List of Thai mo ...
, from September 2009 to August 2013. He entered the hospital for treatment of a respiratory condition. In October 2014 King Bhumibol had gall bladder surgery at Siriraj. He died there on 13 October 2016 at the age of 88.
Museums
There are seven medical museums at Siriraj Hospital. They are the Siriraj Bimuksthan Museum, Ellis Pathological Museum, Congdons Anatomical Museum, Songkran Niyomsan Forensic Medicine Museum, Parasitological Museum, Touch Museum in Honor of Queen Mother Sirikit, and Sood Sangvichien Prehistoric Museum Laboratory. The permanent exhibits include sections on
anatomy
Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old scien ...
,
pathology
Pathology is the study of disease. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in the context of modern medical treatme ...
,
congenital disorder
A birth defect is an abnormal condition that is present at childbirth, birth, regardless of its cause. Birth defects may result in disability, disabilities that may be physical disability, physical, intellectual disability, intellectual, or dev ...
s,
toxicology
Toxicology is a scientific discipline, overlapping with biology, chemistry, pharmacology, and medicine, that involves the study of the adverse effects of chemical substances on living organisms and the practice of diagnosing and treating ex ...
, techniques of
Thai traditional medicine, and
forensic pathology
Forensic pathology is pathology that focuses on determining the cause of death by examining a corpse. A post mortem examination is performed by a medical examiner or forensic pathologist, usually during the investigation of criminal law cases ...
.
In 2008, the temporary exhibit featured the role of Siriraj Hospital. The latest museum is Siriraj Bimuksthan Museum, opened in early 2013. The museum is housed in the renovated vintage architecture of the old
Bangkok Noi railway station, next to Siriraj's newly opened private subsidiary
Siriraj Piyamaharajkarun Hospital. The museum exhibits history of medicine in Thailand from traditional medicine to modern, and includes history of the Bangkok Noi area where the museum and the hospital are situated.
See also
*
Siriraj Piyamaharajkarun Hospital
*
Siriraj MRT station
*
Health in Thailand
*
Hospitals in Thailand
Hospitals in Thailand are operated by both the public and private sector, to provide medical services for prevention, cure and rehabilitation of patients with medical and health-related conditions. The majority are operated by the Ministry of Pub ...
*
List of hospitals in Thailand
This is a comprehensive list of hospitals in Thailand. The list is sorted with Bangkok at the top, and then in the alphabetical order of the provinces.
Public Hospitals
Ministry of Public Health
Office of the Permanent Secretary
As of 2024, ...
*
List of hospitals in Bangkok
This is a comprehensive list of hospitals in Thailand. The list is sorted with Bangkok at the top, and then in the alphabetical order of the provinces.
Public Hospitals
Ministry of Public Health
Office of the Permanent Secretary
As of 2024, ...
References
*
External links
Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University WebsiteRamathibodi Hospital Faculty of Medicine the younger sister medical school o
Mahidol University
{{Authority control
Mahidol University
Hospitals in Bangkok
Teaching hospitals in Thailand
Hospitals established in 1888
Bangkok Noi district
Hospitals in Thailand
Buildings and structures on the Chao Phraya River
de:Siriraj Medizinische Fakultät und Krankenhaus, Mahidol Universität