Explore History
NLM historical collections of material related to health and disease are among the richest in the world. We have precious old books and manuscripts, historical prints and photographs, and historical films and videos. The collection includes an Arabic manuscript on gastrointestinal disease completed in 1094, and handwritten letters from such notable figures as Louis Pasteur and Florence Nightingale. On the Profiles in Science database, view the personal papers of Nobel Prize-winning scientist, Joshua Lederberg, among others.
Online Learning
NLM historians and curators create special Web sites about a myriad of historical topics. Read about Elizabeth Blackwell, health posters, the Hippocratic Oath, Frankenstein, Harry Potter, and more.
You can also browse our Web site to find historical topics to explore:
- Digital Collections (digitized books and videos)
- Images from the History of Medicine, IHM (image database)
- Medicine in the Americas (full text digital medical Americana)
- Turning the Pages (view rare books up close)
- Historic Medical Sites in the Washington, DC Area
Recent Historical Exhibitions
You can visit our current exhibit, Against the Odds, in-person or online. Tour our previous exhibits online.
Against the Odds, looks at the revolution in global health that is taking place in towns and cities around the world. Communities, in collaboration with scientists, advocates, governments, and international organizations, are taking up the challenge to prevent disease and improve quality of life. People around the world have made a difference—working together, against the odds, for the benefit of all.
Visible Proofs explores the history of forensic medicine. This online exhibition presents how physicians, surgeons, and other professionals have struggled to develop scientific methods that translate views of bodies and body parts into "visible proofs" that can persuade judges, juries, and the public.
Changing the Face of Medicine presents many ways that women have influenced and enhanced the practice of medicine. The individuals featured here provide an intriguing glimpse of the broader community of women doctors who are making a difference.
Dream Anatomy introduces an astonishing range of views of the human body from 1500 to the present. Anatomical artists pay homage to the body hidden under the skin with woodcuts, copper engravings, lithographs, photographs, and digital imaging.
Visit the Library
Visit the Library for a tour of the current exhibition. For an exhibition preview, see Against the Odds: Making a Difference in Global Health. To arrange a group tour, contact the Education Coordinator.
Things to do and see at the Library
- Visit the current exhibition, Against the Odds: Making a Difference in Global Health.
- Take a guided tour of the current exhibition.
- Take a tour of the History of Medicine Reading Room.
- See all exhibitions.
- Take a tour of the Library.
- "Turn the pages" of Elizabeth Blackwell's A Curious Herbal, a beautifully illustrated 18th century book of medicinal plants, at the History of Medicine Reading Room's Turning the Pages kiosk.
- Explore Objects of Art in the National Library of Medicine.
- Visit the interactive computer displays and pick up give-aways at the NLM Visitors Center, open weekdays except Federal holidays, 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. (EST).
