Questionable 1700s treatment for melancholy... rubbing yourself all over with nettles

Join us on 26 Feb for the launch of our new exhibition 🩸 Rag: A History of Blood 🩸 There'll be wine, tours and talks from experts Prof Helen King and Prof Marc Turner. More info 👉 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/exhibition...

Italian health pass enabling bearer to pass despite quarantines due to plague, 1722. The word quarantine was derived from the Italian words quaranta giorni, meaning 40 days - the number of days a ship coming from an infected port had to sit at anchor before entering Venice.

Our new Physicians' Collections Research Grant provides funding, space and research support. Find out more and apply 👉 www.rcpe.ac.uk/education/ph...

There’s a whole meal in this 18th century medical treatment for stomach pain – unfortunately to be rubbed on the skin rather than eaten – bread, eggs, milk, vinegar and saffron

Only two weeks left! Our Hooked exhibition closes on Friday 13th February. Last chance to stop by and explore the history of addiction - from heroin to gambling, from alcohol to love. Find out more 👉 www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/hoo...

1930s anti-cannabis propaganda films showed users as violent and depraved. The first commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics described cannabis as ‘an addictive drug which produces in its users insanity, criminality, and death’ Find out more in Hooked www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/hoo...

Fear of witches spread across Europe from c.1300. The author of this book, Johan Weyer, was a voice of reason in a time of terror - arguing that it was due to mental illness and superstition. He believed this was a problem for doctors, not clerics

Fashionable smoking accessories began to appear on the market almost as soon as tobacco first arrived in Europe. The first smoking jacket was designed in the 1850s. Their purpose was to protect expensive suits from falling ash and cinders Find out more in Hooked www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/hoo...

Researchers are now using proteomics analysis on historical books, discovering all sorts of proteins people left on them centuries ago. 🏺🧪

Life hack: always put the serpent into a barrel of wine to putrify before you use it to treat your leprosy

Early modern view on tobacco 'the smoke of it is held to be a great antidote against venom and pestilential diseases' Find out more in our exhibition ‘Hooked’ www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/hoo...

Design for an artificial hand from Les œuvres d’Ambroise Paré, c.1585. Ambroise Pare was a pioneer of battlefield medicine and surgery and devised many prostheses. This hand had springs and catches which mimicked the movement of joints. #histmed

What is now a cocktail bar on the corner of Edinburgh’s North Castle and George Streets was once a ‘Mesmeric Sanatorium’ – a venue for both mesmeric treatments and phrenological examinations

This bag promotes Vicodin, an opioid. It was gifted by a pharmaceutical sales rep to a physician. It dates from the early days of the opioid crisis in the US, when the country experienced a sharp rise in the misuse of prescription drugs Find out more in Hooked www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/hoo...

Melt in your mouth chloroform anyone? Gelatine sheets from the #WW1 battlefront, marketed as containing morphine, aspirin and quinine

'Tis the season! Physicians expressing their thanks to Influenza. Coloured etching attributed to Temple West, 1803. #skystorians #medhist #medicalhistory #histmed #histsci #sciart #fluseason #flu

Sore legs? Considered putting herrings on your feet? - Handy 1785 medical tip

New Year, new you? For anyone whose New Year's resolutions involve gym membership - we jump into the history of gyms and exercise 👉 rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/gym...

Born #NewYearsEve 1514, Andreas Vesalius, anatomist, physician and author of the influential text 'On the Fabric of the Human Body' #histmed

2025 wrap up! This year, we have… 🎉 Expanded our museum to add a new gallery 🎉 Had our digitised books downloaded over 440,000 times! 🎉 ran 15 events and 72 tours for 3,811 people! (we’re especially proud of our bladder-themed event, who knew so many people were fascinated by bladders!)

16thc trepan, used to drill holes in a patient's skull as a treatment for a whole range of conditions including headaches, hysteria and epilepsy. "Press the trepan on the thickest part, and in this take good heede..."

Handy eighteenth century tip for curing 'Warts in the Private Members'... nothing too complicated, just the blood of an eel, of course

It's #FestiveClothes for today's #ArchiveAdventCalendar with @arascot.bsky.social. These beautifully embroidered gloves (c.1600) belonged to our College founder & surgeon, Peter Lowe. We probably wouldn't recommend wearing them to make snowballs though 😆❄️ heritage.rcpsg.ac.uk/items/show/37

This style of ceramic inhaler was invented in the 1860s. Medical infusions were placed in the inhaler and boiling water was poured over them. Common medicines used included chlorine, iodine, creosote, vinegar and henbane. This object is on display in our gallery 👉 www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/joy...

New episode! This week, we’re talking about an object from our temporary exhibition ‘Hooked’ – The Tree of Intemperance, an 1800s American illustration with an admonishing moral message. Listen now 👉 www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/tre...

One of the absolute highlights of my trip to Ingolstadt in September was seeing the exhibition ´Ansichtssache’ (a matter of perspective) at the German Medical History Museum. It showed the knitted anatomy of Katharina Sabernig, and I can’t say how much I loved it!

A typical 1600s patient/doctor consultation on full display in this woodcut from Joannes Jonstonus. The doctor examines a flask of the patient's urine while the patient waits for their results

17thc medical diagnosis by astrology. Watch out under Capricorn for diseases of the knees and hams. And beware of scabs and fractures

Um, dog milk and the brains of a hare anyone?

Suffering from the sniffles? Here's a recipe to make a "fine tablet for the cough and coold" from our 18th century herbal notebook.

New episode! We’re exploring different objects on display in our Physicians’ Gallery. This week, we’re talking about the electro-therapeutic machine. These machines were designed to administer electric shocks. Listen now 👉 www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/ele...

Victorian medicine chest, which contains medications for pain relief, such as opium. It also includes a set of scales, weights, a pill tile, and a spatula. It was probably used in the home or by an apothecary. Photo: Wellcome Collection, London

Blog! What we mean by addiction is ever changing. In 1600s Britain, reading books was seen as addictive. You could also be addicted to astrology or to writing poetry. Read more 👉 www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/her...

In 1700s Britain tea was in such high demand it was often counterfeited - with local plants mixed with turpentine, paint and sheep dung. This book shows an authentic Chinese tea leaf (bottom left) in comparison with 'spurious' substitute leaves Find out more in Hooked www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/hoo...

17th century birthing stool, with handgrips for the mother to grasp during contractions and a 'cloth round the ring to keep out the aire'. Similar stools can be found described in the Bible and in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs

Marie Curie was born #OnThisDay 1867. Madame Curie visited Glasgow in 1929, being hosted by Professor Archibald Young and Mrs Anna Young. Here is a photo of Irene Curie, Madame Curie, and Mrs Young enjoying the fresh Scottish air at Loch Fyne 😅 #heritage #mariecurie

A personal favourite treatment... To cure a whitloe (lesion) put your finger in a cat's ear

New podcast series! We’re exploring different objects on display in our Physicians’ Gallery. This week, we’re talking about a 1600s book called Erotomania, which explores the addictive nature of unrequited love. Listen now 👉 www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/ero...

On the doctor's orders - wine as a cure for melancholy, at breakfast, lunch and dinner. archive.org/details/b216...

Our new permanent gallery and learning centre are now open! Be one of the first to check out our alchemical scroll, examine medicines from the Battle of Culloden and try out our family-friendly puzzles and activities. Find out more 👉 www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/joy...

This image is from an 18thc text, 'Man-midwifery dissected'. Its author, John Blunt, wrote that women who employed male midwives were 'female brutes' who 'have stoically forgotten to blush, unless it be by the assistance of rouge'

These are both opium-based medicines. Paregoric was given to young children to relieve teething pain and send them to sleep. Other opium-based medicines for children included Mother Bailey’s Quieting Syrup and Mrs Winslow’s Soothing Syrup Find out more in Hooked www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/hoo...

We're on the way! Very excited to see our new public gallery taking shape. Opening on 3rd November and free entry - see you there! Find out more 👉 www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/joy...

‘A Satyr against Snuff’ caused a bit of a stir in the 18thc with its risqué health warnings: ‘now, tis by every sort And Sex adorned, But ask a Wench how Oysters sell? If nice, She begs a pinch before she sets a price’ Find out more in our exhibition www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/hoo...

Santorio Sanctorius’s 17thc weighing machine. For over 30 years he weighed everything that went into, and came out of his body, comparing the weight of his food and drink with his urine and excretia and keeping a detailed diary of his findings

"We are sun-starved" Not sure a Collaro Sunray Lamp is the answer.... This advertisement is from September 1939, when people had a lot more on their minds than the lack of sunlight.

Sore legs? Considered putting herrings on your feet? - Handy 1785 medical tip

We’re excited to announce that on 3rd Nov we’re opening a 🎉 free 🎉 entry new gallery and learning centre! Join us to explore stories from medicine – from alchemy to straitjackets, along with family-friendly activities and puzzles. Find out more 👉 www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/joy...

Dr Ebenezer Sibly, using his miracle tincture, the occult, and mesmerism to 'cure' a patient, ('A Key to Physic and the Occult Sciences')