Medical History on the Web

There has been a resurgence of professional historical interest in medical history during the last twenty years. Medical history museums, societies, publications and other resources are now available on the Web. This site will provide a link to a selection of the best of these resources and a offer a commentary on their quality, coverage and ease of use for researchers. This commentary will be particularly useful in areas where web links are very slow.

Please send comments or additional links to Harriet Deacon.

General Sites

There are a few sites which, like this one, provide links to Medical History pages around the world.

The most complete is perhaps the World Wide Web Virtual Library of History of Science, Technology and Medicine, part of the Australian Science Archives Project (ASAP). This site contains sections on relevant institutions, sources, biographical collections, e-mail lists and much more. The minor irritation of its navigational interface, which does not take you directly to links, is mitigated by the high quality and excellent coverage of the links. Some of the sites are rated by Depth, Content and Design.

The Medical History on the Internet site is particularly strong on the history of anaesthesia, but also has general historical links and a good breadth of coverage. The comments are patchy but useful.

The MedWeb history site is really very good on coverage although the interface is old-fashioned and makes browsing difficult. A number of their links were out of date, however, and there is an American bias in the selection of sites.

Museums & Exhibitions

See the list of Museums on Wright's Medical History on the Internet site and the Exhibitions list on the HST&M Virtual Library site.

One interesting exhibition site with comprehensive links and coverage is the Evolution and History site, which places Darwin's work in social and historical context.

Publications

The Bulletin of the History of Medicine, journal of the AAHM, provides the usual journal information on its site as well as an on-line access facility for those people in subscribing institutions with password access. There is one free issue available on-line. The site is well-designed although a little old-fashioned in its layout approach, and it relatively quick to download.

Isis, the official journal of the History of Science Society, is an international review devoted to the history of science and its cultural influences. Its site provides information about the journal, guidelines for those submitting articles and subscription contacts. The site has a rather poor design with some typographical errors and a heavy background which interferes with the text. Its stablemate Osiris has a similar site.

The Canadian Bulletin of Medical History has a site which provides subscription information but little else.

Resources

See the HST&M Virtual Library section on Sources.

A full text version of R. Young's Darwin's Metaphor: Nature's Place in Victorian Culture can be found on-line. Sheratt of the Virtual Library gives it a three star rating for design and five for content: his design rating is generous, but the content rating well-deserved.

Murray K. Simpson's resources on the History of Idiocy are focused on the UK, with a bibliography and on-line texts linked to the site. This is a fairly plainly designed site with an interesting and informative collection of resources.

Evelynn Hammonds and Michelle Murphy of MIT have produced a fascinating site on the History of the Concept of "Race" in Science, Medicine, Public Health and Technology. The site contains relevant primary and secondary source bibliographies, announcements of conferences, syllabi and an image gallery. It is an excellent example of use of the internet for teaching and research.

Professional Associations

Anaesthesia Historical Association

American Association for the History of Medicine (AAHM)

American Association for the History of Nursing (AAHN)

History of Science Society

Society for the Social History of Medicine (SSHM)

British Society for the History of Science (BSHS)

Discussion Lists

A list of e-mail discussion lists is on the HST&M Virtual Library site.