Smithsonian's "First Do No Harm" Traces American Medical History From Leech Prescriptions to the First Artificial Heart
The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History opened "First Do No Harm" to the public on Friday, November 6, on the museum's second floor east wing in Washington, where it will be on view on an ongoing basis. Admission is free and no passes are needed.
The exhibition traces how healing practices evolved from leech prescriptions to house calls to cutting-edge technologies that revolutionized healthcare and expanded access to life-saving treatments, examining both the triumphs and the shortfalls of the medical system and how they have shaped the health of Americans.
It opens with three case studies, including scientist Maurice Hilleman, who helped develop some 40 life-saving vaccines. Artifacts on display include the Liotta-Cooley artificial heart, the first artificial heart implanted in a human, in 1969; a 1928 sample of penicillin mold from Alexander Fleming's lab; a syringe Jonas Salk used to test the polio vaccine in 1950 and a vial of Pfizer's 2021 COVID-19 vaccine; a prototype scanner Nobel laureate Allan M. Cormack used in 1963 experiments that helped establish the theoretical foundations of CT scans; and HIV and AIDS drugs from the 1980s and early 1990s.
The National Museum of American History, at 1300 Constitution Ave. NW, is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and closed December 25. (Source: Smithsonian National Museum of American History)
Source: Smithsonian National Museum of American History
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：史密森尼国家美国历史博物馆外景。史密森尼图片。 / Photo: The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. Image from the Smithsonian Institution.
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