The exhibition “Creating a City of Medicine” offers visitors a deep look into 100 years of Philadelphia’s medical history, showcasing contributions from a wide range of people and communities. “Kind of in cross-sections that allow you to see the contributions of a whole lot of different people and communities,” explains Sara Ray, Ph.D., senior director of interpretation and engagement at the Mütter Museum of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia.
The Mütter Museum is part of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, founded in 1787. Ray notes the museum holds “tremendous collections,” featuring instrumentation, teaching models, and old books on display. Among the artifacts are materials dating back to the Civil War.
The Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793
The exhibition begins with the city’s formative years, marked by the devastating Yellow Fever epidemic. “That just slams into Philadelphia in the summer of 1793,” Ray says. “People didn’t really know what caused it.”
The fallout was catastrophic. Ray notes, “10% of the city died within a couple of months.” Yet the outbreak tested and ultimately strengthened the city’s civic and medical institutions. According to Ray, the Department of Public Health “kind of developed out of that moment.”
The Medical Marketplace
The Medical Marketplace section reveals how residents sought medical care in the early 19th century. Most people received treatment at home rather than in hospitals, which were often associated with death and poverty. “By and large, it was not the hospital, which were places of sort of death and poverty. Most people were receiving care at home,” Ray explains.
A City of Medical Education
Philadelphia earned its reputation as a center for medical learning as institutions multiplied across the region. “Tons of medical schools really cropped up over that first hundred years, as well as the clinical hospitals,” Ray says.
Medicine in Wartime
The Civil War advanced medicine out of necessity, producing innovations that remain standard today. “Produced things that, again, we just sort of take for granted today, like anesthesia,” Ray notes. The war also drove progress in:
- Reconstructive surgery
- Neurology
- Prosthetics
A very early wooden prosthetic leg from the mid-1800s is on display in the “Medicine in Wartime” section.
The Germ Theory of Disease
The discovery of germs as a cause of disease in the 1880s ushered in a sanitary revolution that transformed medical practices. Ray says the exhibition examines how this shift changed the field moving forward.
“What we hope the exhibition does is really teach people a broader view of what medicine looks like, not just in the past, but today as well.” , Sara Ray, Ph.D.
Visitor Information
“Creating a City of Medicine” is on view through next summer at the Mütter Museum of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia. Discounted admission is offered to medical, nursing, and public health students. Qualifying visitors can select the “College Student” level ticket and use the promo code MEDSTUDY250 for $15 off a timed admission ticket.
Location Details:
- Exhibition: “Creating a City of Medicine”
- Venue: Mütter Museum of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia
- Address: 19 S. 22nd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103