Stacey Tovino over at Hamline University's Health Law Institute sent me a great link to an exhibit at the International Museum of Surgical Science (Chicago, IL):
The Universal Condition: Enduring and Alleviating Pain
Nearly every human being experiences pain at some point in life. “The Universal Condition” will examine issues in the perception of pain and chronicle medicine’s quest to relieve it, from the ancient use of psychoactive plants to contemporary laser therapy, focusing on milestones such as the discovery of anesthesia. Case studies will provide an in-depth look at some common pain syndromes, explaining their causes and available treatments.
Featured in the exhibit are historical artifacts from the Museum’s extensive collection, including prehistoric Peruvian trephined skulls, 19th-century anesthesia inhalers, and packaging for patent medicines containing opium, cannabis, and belladonna. The exhibit also showcases products and innovations in use today for the control of acute and chronic pain.
The exhibit is accompanied by a medical humanities lecture series on pain and pain management (related, but not the same, IMO), which includes talks from all manner of pain professionals and ethicists. Looks fascinating; those of you in the area might enjoy it. Those of us out of the area may be jealous.
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