Netsuke inscribed with acupuncture meridians, Japanese, 18th-19th century

Are you addicted to aspirin? Could you survive without cough mixture? How would you cope with the common cold if neither of these necessities existed? Come and learn the shocking truth about what life was like before it stopped being a game of chance.

Galleries

See more than 5000 objects from around the world illustrating the history of medicine in western and non-western cultures. Some are beautiful, some intriguing, and some have belonged to famous people.

 
Glimpses of Medical History gallery

Find out how it felt to be a doctor or patient at different times in history, or in different cultures. Forty-three scenes ranging from detailed models to full reconstructions show the history of medicine from Neolithic times to the 1980s.

 

Unravel the connection between apricot tins and kidney machines, scanners and 'jedi' helmets, in this provocative exhibition on developments in twentieth century medicine.