OVER THE YEARS
While not every topic covered falls into a category, we still want to include events, such as those below, in medical experimentation history.
PLEASE NOTE: Images and descriptions displayed in this museum may be disturbing for some viewers.
Discretion advised.
1700 - 1900
Much of what we know about the internal working of the human body is owed to pre-Industrial Revolution inquiry. Though the benefits of these discoveries and innovations were (and still are) largely experienced by the wealthy, the most vulnerable were most likely to find themselves enduring painful exploratory procedures or being used to validate pseudo-scientific ideals.
[image: Max Wocher Medicine kit, 1800s. Various instruments such as a bone saw and bloodletting tools.]
1900 - 2000
After the Industrial Revolution, technological advancement impacted the medical sector as it did any other. "Progress" did not protect communities from exploitation, however. In fact, technology provided new ways for vulnerable bodies to suffer.
[image: Bayer advertisement for cough remedy. Advertisement shows advert on left and bottle with Heroin label on right.]
2000 - PRESENT
While ethical considerations of medical research have become more tightly regulated and patient's rights protected with the implementation of IRBs (Institutional Review Boards) and the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), many advancements still raise questions of access and consent without coercion. One of the most important questions today's society can ask is whether or not we should, despite the fact that we can.
[image: da Vinci® Surgical System, 2000. FDA approved robotic surgical machine used in laparoscopic surgeries - reported to reduce hospital infection.]