Mobile Medical Museum

08/15/2025

We're getting a new placemaking sign, courtesy of Leadership Mobile and April Terra Livingston! The Museum is honored to have been invited to participate in this arts and culture initiative. Here are some pictures from last night's presentation of the proposed artwork.

08/12/2025

We are so excited to team up again with our friends at Alabama Contemporary Art Center for next year's Artist-in-Residency project!

With a new year of exhibitions around the corner, Alabama Contemporary is also offering a whole slate of open calls and artist opportunities!

We are now accepting proposals for our new Alabama AIR program, a short term artist residency opportunity in which we will pair artists and their projects with four different partner institutions across the state of Alabama: The Wallace Center for Arts & Reconciliation in Harpersville, Coleman Center for the Arts in York, Pride of Atmore in Atmore, and Mobile Medical Museum in Mobile.

To learn more about this and other opportunities and submit your project proposal, visit alabamacontemporary.org/opportunities.

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This program is generously supported by The Daniel Foundation of Alabama.

08/11/2025

This is a mouth gag designed by Dr. John Ellis Jennings of St. Louis, Missouri, in 1914. It was used to prop open a patient's mouth during oral surgery. The Jennings gag was based on an earlier design by Dr. William R. Whitehead, but it lacks a tongue depressor and only has a ratchet on one side instead of both, which is used for adjusting the width of the gag.

08/08/2025

Oliver Wendall Holmes was not just a doctor--learn about his amazing life

08/06/2025

in 1881 Sir Alexander Fleming was born. Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928 as the first naturally derived antibiotic. For 16 years, Fleming and his assistants tried to isolate and stabilize pure penicillin from mold in the laboratory. In 1940 Howard Florey and Ernst Chain reached out to Fleming to seek support in developing penicillin into a new drug to fight the many infectious diseases on and off the battlefield. In 1942, Fleming successfully treated Harry Lambert with penicillin for a near-fatal case of streptococcal meningitis during a clinical trial, thus proving the effectiveness of the manufactured drug.

In our Historical Collections, we have one of the first penicillin molds from Fleming’s original study. Fleming, Florey, and Chain’s work on the development and mass production of penicillin during World War II drastically improved the survival rate of surgical and wound infections of service members.
M-660.10909

08/06/2025

Our 2025 Artist-in-Residence Miriam Calleja reflects on her recent visit to Mobile.

https://miriamcalleja.substack.com/p/a-taste-of-residency-life?r=1q6ksh&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&fbclid=IwY2xjawMAV7pleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFnVXdRV2tPWmdNbmVlcUU4AR5KUf-NxX1jaJ-KQepRxUy5rZxEco9RLqCw2VcALOaCrvgnV-7XsRbRzdSNCw_aem_sxFHPQIiq3irtxVlIstUnQ&triedRedirect=true

Everyone does it differently, but here's how my week in Mobile went.

08/05/2025

NEW DATE! The writing workshop with 2025 Artist-in-Residence Miriam Calleja has been postponed until September 21. Scan the QR code or visit our website to register!

08/04/2025

Cheers to all the coasties out there!

Today, we celebrate 234 years of service, bravery, and dedication from the U.S. Coast Guard, established on August 4, 1790.

From patrolling our shores to conducting daring rescues, the Coast Guard plays a critical role in protecting our nation—and military medicine stands alongside them every step of the way.

Whether it's emergency response, medical evacuations, or ensuring readiness through preventive care, Coast Guard personnel rely on innovation and resilience to stay mission ready.

At the National Museum of Health and Medicine, we honor the service and health of all our armed forces—including the Coast Guard—by preserving the history of military medical care at sea, on land, in the air, and in space.
Thank you to all who serve!
Caption: Members of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit and Coast Guard Maritime Security Response Team East conduct helicopter insertion training aboard the USCGC Calhoun (WMSL 759) at sea, June 16, 2025. The Coast Guard routinely trains with DOD partners for any scenario to always stay prepared for future situations. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Marcus Fort, DVIDS, 191207-G-ZE884-8025

08/01/2025

Illustration showing a fetus attached to a placenta by the umbilical cord. The small blue and red vessels inside the placenta are known as villi, which extend like tree roots from the umbilical arteries and vein. Water, food, and oxygen are absorbed from the maternal blood in the placenta through the walls of the villi through osmosis. Likewise, carbon dioxide and waste products pass through the walls of the villi to the maternal blood. Image from Obstetrics for Nurses, by Joseph B. DeLee, A.M., M.D. and Mabel C. Carmon, R.N. (Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Company), 11th ed., 1939.

07/31/2025

"Miasma theory is suddenly newsworthy, roughly 150 years after germ theory displaced this explanation for the origins and spread of diseases, because of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services. In his 2021 The Real Anthony Fauci, Kennedy wrote positively about miasma theory while disparaging 'the domineering ascendancy of germ theory as the cornerstone of contemporary public health policy.'...If miasma theory is guiding Kennedy’s decisions, what do we need to know about it?"

I recently received an unusual request—could I explain miasma theory to an NPR reporter? Miasma theory is suddenly newsworthy, roughly 150 years after germ theory displaced this explanation for the…

07/30/2025

In the later nineteenth century, the invention of infant formula, the increasing availability of animal's milk, and the greater social acceptance of breastfeeding led to more demand for nursing bottles. The so-called "murder bottle" (first image) was initially popular because it was cheap and convenient--a baby could learn to feed itself by sucking milk or formula through a long rubber tube attached to the mouth of the bottle. But particles of food could easily get trapped in the narrow mouth and tube, leading to bacterial growth and the risk of deadly infection. There was no heat-resistant glass available, which made sterilization more difficult. In 1910, these "murder bottles" were banned because of the unacceptable health risk to infants. Later bottles had wider openings, rubber teats instead of feeding tubes, and were heat-proof (second image). Come see "Domestic Medicine in the Nineteenth Century" to learn more! There will be tours for walk-in visitors this Friday and Saturday at 2 pm.

07/23/2025

We are one of the only privately operated and supported medical museums in the United States. Please join our membership or make a donation of any amount to help us fulfill our cultural and educational mission!