The Medical Museum

On Thursday 17th December 2009 a group of Year 11 pupils went on a visit to the Thackray Medical Museum in Leeds as part of their Medicine and Public Health Through Time GCSE course.

One part of the museum deals mainly with the development of surgery, starting with a reconstruction of the amputation of a leg carried out on 11 year old Hannah Dyson - in the days before anaesthetics. The displays tell the fascinating, if gruesome, story of the development of anaesthetics, antiseptic and aseptic surgery and blood transfusions, right the way through to modern surgical techniques such as key hole surgery.

The second part of the museum examines the dreadful living conditions people had to endure in the 19th century towns. Through reconstructed street scenes of Leeds in 1842, pupils experienced the sights, sounds and smells of these overcrowded slums. The remaining displays focus on the fight against disease and the work of key individuals who greatly expanded medical knowledge and developed new treatments.

An enjoyable, and hopefully informative day, was had by all.

James, Leanne and Robert experience the sights, sounds and smells of a Leeds street in 1842.