Page Introduction
Here on the Medicine Wing Main Page you will find links to Museum exhibits relating to medicine and disability.
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About the Medicine Wing
disABILITY and the Medical Establishment Timeline
Flash Version
The medical establishment has played a pivotal role in the lives of individuals who have disabilities. In antiquity, individuals with "differences" were viewed with curiosity, superstition, seen as harbingers of evil or as a connection to the devine, and were pitied, and/or persecuted.
Medical Establishment
Flash Version
The medical establishment and some people who had large influences.
Prevention of disAbilities
Flash Version
Considered a form of "prevention," especially during its peak from about 1907 and into the 1960s, eugenic ideals such as segregation.
Cures for disABILITIES
Flash Version
In order to cure disabilities, society has throughout time tried to identify the cause. From evil spirits to bad genetics, various techniques were used in an attempt to cure disabling conditions.