Paul Stepansky is a trained historian who has spent much of his career in the world of publishing. Since 2011, Stepansky has also authored this heterogenous blog about the history of medicine, health, psychology, and other fields. In most entries, Stepansky includes detailed information and full citations for those interested in further reading, along with archival images. In other entries,...

Since 1987, staff members at the Rutgers University Center of Alcohol Studies have been collecting citations of documents related to alcohol. Today, they have over 80,000 citations and much of the material is related to research and professional materials that deal with the subject. Additionally, the database contains a small collection of educational and prevention materials designed for use by...

Anatomical drawing and illustration has been an important tool of doctors and physiologists since the time of Galen. The University of Virginia's Claude Moore Health Science Library has created this breezy and informative tour through the history of anatomical study and drawing and placed it here for use by the general public. First-time visitors will want to take in the "Brief Essay on Anatomical...

The Nation Health Service (NHS) was launched in 1948 with the proud expectation that it would make the UK the "envy of the world." On this site, visitors can follow the history of the NHS from the early planning stages through to its fully fledged "but sometimes problematic service." The site provides programs, documents, and images covering the birth of the National Health Service. Programs...

Ideas that change the world can be few and far between, so it's nice to learn about this fine digital collection from The Huntington Library. Designed to complement the renovated Dibner Hall of the History of Science at the Library, this site peers into the world of astronomy, natural history, medicine, and light. After reading a brief overview about the exhibit, visitors should click on over to...

The Warren Anatomical Museum at the Harvard Medical School was founded in 1847 by John Collins Murray with the aim of teaching students about human anatomy. Today, Harvard's Center for the History of Medicine has made a number of items featured in the museum available through this online exhibit. This collection includes illustration lithographer Oscar Wallis, who was commissioned by surgery...

The New York Academy of Medicine's Center of Medicine and Public Health "promotes the scholarly and public understanding of the history of medicine and public health and the history of the book." On its blog, visitors can learn more about items in the the New York Academy's Library and the clues that archival materials provide about the history of health and medicine. For example, one recent post...

During the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, astrological medicine gained prevalence throughout Great Britain. Simon Forman and Richard Napier were perhaps the most prominent astrologer-physicians; collectively, they saw thousands of patients in urban and rural areas. During visits, Foreman or Napier would interview each patient and consult astrological charts to gain insight into...

Cholera is a disease which can spread quickly and it has certainly presented some tremendous challenges for public health officials and experts in recent times. This fascinating online collection brings together 221 English language monographs dating from 1817 to 1900 which deal with the cholera epidemics of that period. This project was undertaken by the National Library of Medicine, and the...

Let us ask: What is circulating now? It's a general invitation and a conversation stated by the folks at the U.S. National Library of Medicine. For over 175 years, the National Library of Medicine has offered a range of historical collections to interested parties and this site offers up an impressive selection of these materials. First-time visitors should read the "Welcome to Circulating Now"...