Physicians' Gallery

@physiciansgallery

A free museum and library exploring the science and humanity of medicine at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh Sign up to our newsletter www.rcpe.ac.uk/newsletter

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Physicians' Gallery@physiciansgallery· 5d

This book, by English doctor James Johnson, examines the medicinal uses of leeches. The book describes experiments on different leeches to see how easily they could be ‘tamed’. The horse leech, it says, is the most wild and unpredictable. Find out more in Rag👉 www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/rag...

An open book. On the left page is an illustration, showing three cross sections of a dissected leech

Physicians' Gallery@physiciansgallery· 8d

The 1700s artist James Gillray produced engravings of medical treatments. In these prints the unfortunate patient can be seen receiving laxatives, vomits and foul-tasting medicines before he begins the course of bloodletting shown in this image Find out more in Rag👉 www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/rag...

A colour illustration of two men, with a title at the bottom of the image which reads ‘Breathing a Vein’. One of the men is sitting, his head turned away from the other man and a grimace on his face. The other man is standing over him, holding his arm as blood flows from one of the seated man’s veins into a bowl which the other man is holding.

Physicians' Gallery@physiciansgallery· 9d

Bloodletting was far from just a European practice and was carried out in parts of South America, Africa and across both South and East Asia. This illustration depicts bloodletting in 1500s Egypt Find out more in Rag👉 www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/rag

An open book showing an illustration of a man bending over the footboard of a bed. His trouser legs are rolled up and another man kneels next to him, making small cuts into the backs of his legs. Other figures stand around him, including a woman holding a towel

Physicians' Gallery@physiciansgallery· 11d

Free #Edinburgh exhibition If you're in town for #EdFringe check out our exhibition Rag. Exploring the history of blood from transfusions to menstruation 📍 Physicians’ Gallery, 11 Queen Street, EH2 1JQ 📅 Mon – Fri, 10am – 4.30pm Find out more 👉 www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/rag...

Three people looking into a museum display case.

Physicians' Gallery@physiciansgallery· 14d

This is a Zodiac Man. These showed the relationship between parts of the body and the zodiac. Stories were told to explain these connections – the heart was Leo because lions were brave, Cancer was the chest wall because crabs have shells. Find out more in Rag👉 www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/rag...

An open book. On the right page is a woodcut showing a man, naked except for a loin cloth, surrounded by objects. The objects are difficult to see, but include animals and a set of scales. Each object is connected by a line to a different one of the man’s body parts (knee, head, foot etc)

Physicians' Gallery@physiciansgallery· 16d

This 1785 recipe, to make a powder of your blood, describes how to cook the blood before storing it in a bladder. This treatment, the recipe emphasises, 'will be no cure to another' - each person must only ingest their own blood. Find out more in Rag www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/rag...

Image of an open book. The recipe reads: To make a powder of your blood. Dry it upon a girdle, or in a frying pan; keep still stirring it about with a knife until you think it is dried enough upon the fire; then take it off, let it stand upon the girdle or in the frying pan till cold, but still keep moving it about: after doing this, you may pound it small any way you please. NB: It will keep in a bladder 7 years but let it be observed, the blood of one person will be no cure to another, every one must use their own blood.

Physicians' Gallery@physiciansgallery· 20d

A 1785 chapbook recipe for 'Beardiness', including watercress and sealions. Too much beard? Try the blood of a bat!

Printed recipe. Reads: For beardiness. To shave often, and wash the beard with the boiled juice of sybbous, or seallions, will cause it grow very quickly; or, wash with water, wherein rusty iron has been laid, upon the places you want hair to grow. But, remember, these cures will not answer the hair of the head, cures being given, as you may see in this book, quite different.

Now, to hinder a beard to grow, be it too strong, to make it weaker: take a handful of euphrasie, and as much of water cresses, boil them together, and anoint therewith as occasion requires - otherwise, singe the beard with the light of a whale oil lamp, or braland berries, by some called crow berries. Or, if you want to be free of a beard altogether, the blood of a batt once applied, wll do the turn.

Probatum est.

Physicians' Gallery@physiciansgallery· 21d

Every six months we re-roll the alchemical Ripley Scroll which is on display in our Gallery. This is to help preserve the scroll from damage, and to give you something new to look at! Stop by and see the newly unrolled biting bird, menstruating dragon and Hermes, the alchemist.

A woman with long dark brown hair, tied up in a bun, bending over an open museum display cabinet with her hands placed on either side of a large parchment scroll

An illustration of a winged dragon biting its own tail while its menstrual blood flows below it

Physicians' Gallery@physiciansgallery· 23d

Late 1800s obstetrics lecture, showcasing teaching materials including anatomical dolls and medical illustrations

Black and white photograph of a lecture theatre. On the rear wall is a display of 15 obstretric images - images of wombs, a woman mid-birth and foetal body parts. At the base of the wall sit two men - on the left a man in a top hat and uniform, appearing like a guard, and on the right sits a man holding an obstetric phantom, another one by his side and his elbow resting on an obstetric birthing model

Physicians' Gallery@physiciansgallery· 28d

Maria Sibylla Merian’s early 18thc natural history illustrations, she was a major contributor to #entomology – particularly with her research on the metamorphosis of butterflies

A colour image of a plant with red fruits, two butterflies can be seen alongside a caterpillar

A colour illustration of two flowers – one pink, one white. Two butterflies can also be seen

Colour illustration of flower, with yellow and red leaves. A brown butterfly is also shown in the bottom right corner

Physicians' Gallery@physiciansgallery· Jul 13

This is one of the first books on medical care for horses. For the cure ‘of the biting with a mad Dogge’, Markham recommends covering the wound with goat dung, elderwort and 40 walnuts crushed together to make a paste

Titlepage of a book. 10 images around the page all show a man and a horse – in each image the man is taming, riding, or treating the horse in different ways.

Physicians' Gallery@physiciansgallery· Jul 9

This board game was created by the Lothian Health Board and Lothian Regional Council as part of a campaign aimed at raising awareness of the risks surrounding HIV and AIDS Find out more in Rag👉 www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/rag...

A colourful board game, with a similar layout to Monopoly

Physicians' Gallery@physiciansgallery· Jul 6

These bags were created as part of The Blood Bag Project. The project has collected over 1,500 bags from all over the world, including Australia, Japan and Russia. Some have been made by artists, some by patients and some by school pupils. Find out more in Rag👉 www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/rag...

Blood bags made from fabric, plastic and other materials hang from red thread from the ceiling and walls. Some have faces, people or other shapes on them. A person with pink hair reaches up and touches one of the bags.

Physicians' Gallery@physiciansgallery· Jul 4

Suffering from a gouty disposition? According to 18thc physician William Cullen the best treatment was opium, brandy and a little amusement cullenproject.ac.uk/docs/3910/

Handwritten text. Reads:

Dr Dolman in York

A gouty disposition at the bottom of your complaints, but your

constitution shattered by many & various accident leaves little hope

of bringing that disposition to take a proper course. No medicines can do.

Bark & bitters will do harm. The only plan is to palliate

by Opium, brandy, [amusement?] exercise, the 2 first as little

& the 2 last as much as possible -- & at the same time a Regimen.

which should be ex media materia. Light animal food, moderately.

Physicians' Gallery@physiciansgallery· Jul 3

New podcast episode! We’re digging into the gnarly history of blood transfusion. From dog blood to black urine, a man is allegedly kidnapped off the streets while scientists vie for primacy in this story of innovation, experimentation and bad ideas. 👉 www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/blo...

Promotional image showing illustration of man having blood removed from his arm. Text reads: Physicians' Gallery Podcast, blood transfusion

Physicians' Gallery@physiciansgallery· Jul 1

For hundreds of years illustrations of women’s reproductive organs were focused on the foetus. These 1834 illustrations are unusual because they show the female reproductive organs without focusing on pregnancy. Find out more in Rag👉 www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/rag...

An open book showing coloured illustrations of ovaries and a breast

Physicians' Gallery@physiciansgallery· Jun 29

This #marginalia lion is perching on the side of George Ripley's seminal 15th century alchemical scroll. Lions represent sulphur in alchemy and when paired with mercury (a lioness) they produce the Philosopher's Stone

Physicians' Gallery@physiciansgallery· Jun 22

We are very pleased to have unveiled our first painting of a global majority doctor. Dr Krishnabai Kelavkar was one of the earliest women physicians in India. She was a social reformer and the founder of the Kelavkar Medical Centre in Kolhapur.

In the background is a large painting in a gold frame, showing an Indian woman in a red sari, resting her arm on a small table.

In the foreground are six people, two men, two women and two young children, facing the camera.

Physicians' Gallery@physiciansgallery· Jun 17

The first binaural (two earpiece) stethoscope was invented in the 1850s. It was developed after the arrival of Malaysian rubber in Europe - material necessary to create the flexible tubing used in these stethoscopes This object is on display in our Gallery 👉 www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/phy...

Physicians' Gallery@physiciansgallery· Jun 11

This image shows the first blood transfusion into a human - by Jean-Baptiste Denys in 1667. Two men died in these trials and public opinion quickly turned against transfusion. 200 years passed before transfusion began to be accepted again. Find out more in Rag👉 www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/rag...

An open book. On the left page are two illustrations, one is of a selection of bladed implements, the other is a man sitting in a chair, to one side is a man, on the other side another man stands next to a suspended dog

Physicians' Gallery@physiciansgallery· Jun 9

We're hiring! We're looking for a Project Library Cataloguer to catalogue our modern (post-1900) library collections Find out more 👉 www.rcpe.ac.uk/college/proj...

Text reads:
Project Library Cataloguer
£34,384 pro rata

6 month contract at 35 hours per week

Option for flexible/part time working

Deadline: 2 July 2026

Physicians' Gallery@physiciansgallery· Jun 8

The mortars and pestles used by doctors and apothecaries who made large quantities of medicines as part of their work could be very large. This mortar and pestle weighs over 16 kilograms (two and a half stone) This object is on display in our Gallery 👉 www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/phy...

Large mortar, metal with two handles. A metal pestle sits in the mortar

Physicians' Gallery@physiciansgallery· Jun 2

From mythical creatures to the natural world to alchemical experiments, this blog delves into symbols present in our collections to reveal their queer significance www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/her...

Promo image. Text reads: Queering the collections, new blog'

Physicians' Gallery@physiciansgallery· May 25

By the 1890s, aware of the role of germs in disease transmission, surgeons began to regularly wear fabric masks and caps in operating theatres. In textbooks these were sometimes called ‘mouth bandages’ or ‘surgical face veils’ These are on display in our Gallery 👉 www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/phy...

A white cotton head wrap and face mask on a head-shaped mount

Physicians' Gallery@physiciansgallery· May 22

Leech jars like this one could be found in the windows of apothecary shops across 1800s Europe. A jar this size could hold up to 250 leeches. Their water needed to be changed regularly, and the leeches needed to be whisked to keep them moving Find out more in Rag👉 www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/rag...

A green ceramic jar with a lid and handles. Gold embellishment on the jar spells out the word 'leeches'

Physicians' Gallery@physiciansgallery· May 19

Elizabeth Blackwell was a talented 18thc Scottish botanical artist who had a difficult life and an even more difficult husband, who she supported from debtors prison to accusations of high treason. Discover more: rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/eli...

Two hand coloured illustrations of plants, on the left is a thistle, and on the right red grapes

Physicians' Gallery@physiciansgallery· May 18

'Nocturnal pollutions...' learnt from a rascal of an English man. Example of 18thc medical treatment of masturbation cullenproject.ac.uk/docs/1795/

Handwritten letter, reads:
Sir

I am the young man whose Case
Mr Barry laid before you I am extremely sorry to
find from your advice laid delivered to me by him
that my disorder appears to be so bad: tho I believe
I rather showed you the worse view of it as I wrote
out my case in a fit of Melancholy which conti¬
nued but a short time I have followed with the
utmost exactness the regimen prescribed & I hope
to derive benefit from it. The nocturnal pollu¬
tions<https://cullenproject.ac.uk/items/s1> still continue tho not near so frequently
generally once in two weeks and always bring
along with them such a degree of melancholy
that during the time it continues which is ge¬
nerally two days I am often tempted to put an
end to my own life, after this my spirits be¬
gin gradually to

Physicians' Gallery@physiciansgallery· May 14

We're launching a new history of medicine award! Deadline: 14 August 2026 Award amount: £1,000 Find out more 👉 www.rcpe.ac.uk/education/ro...

Promotional image. Text reads:
2026 History of Medicine Award
Apply now

Promotional image. Text reads:

Applicants will submit an abstract research paper of no more than 1,000 words.

Deadline: 14 August 2026
Award amount: £1,000

Award finalists will present their papers at a public event on 15 October 2026.

The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh History of Medicine Award aims to support and develop the study of the history of medicine, and to promote the use of the library, archive and heritage object collections held by the College.

Physicians' Gallery@physiciansgallery· May 13

The strap on this mourning bracelet is made from woven human hair. Mourning jewellery was so popular in the late 1800s that it spawned a whole industry. Adverts for hairworkers appeared in national and local newspapers.

Physicians' Gallery@physiciansgallery· May 11

This dermatology 'wound man', a drawing depicting several wounds or ailments on a single subject, acted as a table of contents for the diseases that would be discussed in the text