1900 - 2000
From Eugenics to Radiation, the 20th Century experienced medical events that both helped portions of the population and hurt many others.
PLEASE NOTE: Images and descriptions displayed in this museum may be disturbing for some viewers.
Discretion advised.
HELA CELL EXPERIMENTS
In the 1950’s cancer knowledge was scarce, and many wondered if there was a cure. One doctor, Chester Southam who was an immunologist, sought ought to uncover the true nature of cancer by injecting live cancer cells into prisoners and elderly patients.
[image: Dulbecco, 1962, HeLa cells in petri dish]
STARVATION HEIGHTS
It was too late for many people when they realized that the glorified pseudo medical technique ‘starvation therapy’ was not as beneficial for their health as advertised. Hazzard pioneered this techniques and even opened up a sanitarium to “treat” patients with her cure, all at many expenses.
[Washington Secretary of State. (1908). Cover of a black book titled, Fasting for the Cure of Disease.]
FAMILIES AFFECTED BY THE TUSKEGEE EXPERIMENTS
While many have written about the infamous Tuskegee Syphilis experiments, few have written about the impact it had on the families. This exhibit highlights the family members affected by the patients from the Tuskegee experiments.
[Image: Unidentified woman being tested for syphilis, courtesy of National Archives, 1940s].
SYPHILIS TUSKEGEE EXPERIMENTATION AMONG AFRICAN AMERICAN INDIVIDUALS
A large group of African American men during the 1900s were manipulated into thinking they were receiving treatments for their underlying disease, syphilis, while researchers had a different goal in mind.
[CDC, 1974. The image to the left is showing a researcher providing a placebo treatment to an African American man to treat his “bad blood" also known as syphilis]
MASS CASTRATION
The eugenics movement in the 1900s was growing and after the Supreme Court put it into law, castrations were normal. Victims were castrated for being widowed, feeble-minded, mentally ill, or for simply being an outcast.
[image: University of Albany, SUNY. Emma Buck on the right, with her daughter Carrie on the left]
TB OR NOT TB TRUSTED? ANTIBIOTICS, SURVEILLANCE, AND TUBERCULOSIS IN THE NAVAJO TRIBE
In the early 1950s, the Navajo tribe in Many Farms, Arizona faced a tuberculosis (TB) epidemic that soon introduced modern medicine in their communities. Isoniazid tablets were a new antibiotic Dr. Walsh McDermott introduced to the Navajo people to determine the drug effectiveness against TB.
[Image: Jones, 2001. Calendar system of two tablets a day for the month of January.]
FROM THE BATTLEFIELD INTO THE CANCER WARD
Before the development of chemotherapy, cancer was a death sentence, and so was participating in either of the World Wars. It was only with military research into chemical warfare that the first chemotherapy drug was created: Nitrogen Mustard.
[Photo: Goodman, L.S., Wintrobe, M.M., Dameshek, W., Goodman, M.J., Gilman, A., and McLennan, M.T, 1946. Nitrogen Mustard Therapy Patient J.D. With large tumors in armpits, neck and chest.]
MEDICAL RACISM IN PUERTO RICO
Cornelius Rhoads was a physician-scientist well-known for his impact on advancing chemotherapy and anemia research. Despite being well-respected, Dr. Rhoads abused his medical prestige, purposefully ruining the lives of innocents in Puerto Rico.
[image: Twitter, 2019. Newspaper Calling Out Dr. Cornelius Rhoads for Adminstering Cancer to Puerto Rican Patients]
BEHIND THE "QUACKERY"
Hidden in the confines of the “Quackery” exhibit of the Museum of Historical Medical Artifacts is the Duplex Oxygenator. It describes the artifact, and its intended purpose, but fails to capture the history behind such a peculiar object, and many objects like it.
[Photo: Holbrook, S. H., 1959.The Golden Age of Quackary. Duplex Oxygenator produced by Oxygenator Co., estimated Date 1900]
SPANISH FLU
The influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 is considered deadly due to the lack of understanding of how it spread at the time, which led to poor public policy. Experimentation was reportedly done on prisoners in Boston in order to discover how the disease spread.
[image: Felton, J. 2021. Corpsmen in cap and gown ready to attend patients in influenza ward (CC by 2.0)]
JEWISH CHRONIC DISEASE HOSPITAL
The Jewish Chronic Disease Hospital incident involved unethical experimentation, where researchers injected live cancer cells into elderly patients without their informed consent, leading to widespread condemnation and legal repercussions. This extreme violation of medical ethics underscored the necessity for stringent regulations and ethical guidelines in human research.
[Image: Jewish Hospital and Sanitarium for Chronic Diseases Archives. Brooklyn Eagle. (2024, March 26).]
HIV / AIDS NEGLECT
In the 1980s, HIV/AIDS appeared, disproportionately affecting marginalized groups like gay men, drug users, and Haitian immigrants. However, due to societal stigma and discrimination, there was a lack of attention and understanding surrounding the disease. This neglect led to widespread ignorance and fear, worsening the crisis until increased funding and education efforts in the late 1980s and early 1990s finally brought about a shift in response and awareness.
[Image: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021, March 26).]
MEDICAL MEDIUM
Anthony William, a self-proclaimed medium, shares health advice he says he gets from a spirit he calls "the spirit of compassion." He believes he can see medical problems in people and suggests using fruits and vegetables for healing. But while some celebrities follow his advice, many of his ideas aren't supported by science, and some could even be harmful, like eating too much fruit leading to high sugar levels.
[Photo: Medium, M. (n.d.). Endorsements of medical Medium, Anthony William.]
THE US-MEXICO BORDER AND THE FINAL SOLUTION
Much of the seemingly extraordinary violence and policies of the Nazis, were not as unique as many may think. Much of what they applied, they learned from nations.
[Image: Zinn Education Project. Picture of immigrants being sprayed with unknown substances.]
Hiawatha Asylum for Insane Natives
In 1903, a federal facility was built in South Dakota specifically for Native Americans. Many were forcibly committed and imprisoned here for reasons that usually had nothing to do with mental health.
[Image: The only Native psychiatric facility that was funded by the U.S. Government, The Hiawatha Insane Asylum for Natives.Opened in Canton, South Dakota in 1903.]
CIGARETTES FOR ASTHMA
In the past, some US doctors prescribed medicinal cigarettes for asthma, hoping they would help by opening airways, but medical understanding has since shown smoking poses serious risks, especially for those with respiratory conditions like asthma.
[Photo: Asthma management. Virtual Museum. (n.d.).]
UNHOUSED PARTICIPATION IN DRUG TRIALS
Pharmaceutical companies, such as Eli Lilly & Company, have been using homeless people as test subjects in their drug trials for years on end. This medical experimentation is questioned as it does not align with established principles that protect clinical trial subjects.
[Image: Eli Lilly & Company advertisement of drugs, assuring findings are credential through several measures, one being trials.]