Orthopedics is the branch of medicine devoted to the musculoskeletal system of the body, which includes the bones, muscles, and joints that enable us to move.

The orthopedic specialty treats people in every stage of life—from infants born with limb deformities, to athletes suffering from sports injuries, to seniors living with arthritis and osteoporosis—because mobility is a universal concern.

Japanese surgeons have exported many great medical advances around the world, pioneering such surgical frontiers as ultrasound, anesthetics and surgical stapling.

This exhibit highlights many of the contributions Japanese surgeons have made to modern surgical science.

“I didn’t think, I investigated” – with these wordsin 1895, Wilhelm Roentgen acknowledged the discovery of a major landmark in modernlife: the x-ray.

This exhibit interprets the fascinating story of the medicalimaging pioneers and the progress in over a century of medical imaging.

Following Hippocrates’ declaration that knowledge of the spine “is the requisite of understanding many diseases,” this exhibit pays tribute to the spine’s important role in the body by highlighting historical methods of treating spinal injury, and showcasing the technological and surgical advances that have revolutionized the field.

This rotating exhibition program showcases medically themed contemporary art within the unique context of the Museum’s historical exhibits and collections.

The program was begun in 1998 to help fulfill the Museum’s mission.

Rows of patent medicines, a prescription book and tools of the trade take you inside Dr. Uriah Jones’s Apothecary.

This shop was created from two pharmacies originally located in upstate New York and Iowa.

Near the apothecary are an early 20th century dentist’s office and an exhibit on patent medicines.

The centerpiece of this exhibit is a rare working iron lung. The iron lung along with posters from the March of Dimes campaign bring back many forgotten memories of the fear of an incurable disease.

On the cutting edge of medicine today is a field called surgicogenomics that is emerging from the intersection of genetics and stem cell research and surgical practice.

While the surgeons of history had to rely on their eyes alone, and those of the 20th century saw through the lens of medical imaging, surgeons in the present Genomic Era can look at their patients on the molecular level, examining the genes that provide a complete set of instructions for the creation and functioning of their bodies. Based on this information, surgeons can more accurately determine when and how to operate, avoid potential complications, and predict the outcome of treatment.