Did you know there is a museum of surgical science in Chicago?

Passersby might be forgiven for walking right past the International Museum of Surgical Science.  The museum is tucked inside a historic mansion on Lake Shore Drive, huddled between high-rise apartment buildings.  It shares space and administration with the International College of Surgeons, but inside, guests can view a veritable cornucopia of historical surgical paraphernalia.

One might think the mission of the museum is to make visitors glad they were born in the 20th century, but Lynnea Smith, Director of Education and Events, said the mission of the museum is to “help educate the public and enhance their appreciation and understanding of medical history.”

The museum spans four floors of the former home of Eleanor Robinson Countiss, who commissioned a mansion to follow the lines of Le Petit Trianon, a chateau on the grounds of Versailles.  Listed in both the National and Illinois Register of Historic Places, it’s one of the few remaining lakefront mansions and is the only one open to the public.

Today, it houses such marvels as an iron lung, a series of terrifying implements that were once used for amputations (the resemblance of one of these to a s’more toasting fork is noticeable), a series of fetuses in various stages of development and actual footage of a brain surgery operation from 1953.

Other treasures abound in little pockets hidden throughout the building, like a display of an ophthalmic surgery kit from 1917 or Napoleon’s death mask (included because he was a supporter of new forms of medicine).

I know, you want to see what's in that eye surgery kit.  You're in luck:

The top floor of the museum showcases contemporary art exhibits that link art and medicine, in an effort “to see how medicine can inspire artwork,” said Smith.  Artist Julia Klein, creator of one of the two exhibits currently on display, said her work isn’t “medically oriented in any way other than the fact that for the last couple years I was using orthopedic casting tape,” but when she heard about the call for proposals, it seemed like a perfect fit.

Klein’s exhibit, called “Joint Work”, is a series of “articulated line-centric sculptures created from segments of wood bound together with orthopedic casting tape,” per the museum website. She said she hopes people can “make a connection between seeing the casting material used in a sculpture and thinking of that casting material being used on someone’s arm.” 

Housing a museum in a mansion is not without its challenges.  The museum had to be closed for two weeks at the end of August in order to deinstall an exhibit and then reinstall artifacts.  “We don’t have a loading dock,” Smith explained.  Despite these challenges, the museum also hosts special events.  As Klein put it, “On one floor, you can get married, on the floor directly above, there’s the instruments that they use to drill into someone’s head.”

The museum is open 10-4 Tuesday through Friday and 10-5 on Saturday and Sunday for the courageous and the curious.

The above picture was one of the least terrifying pictures I took while visiting this museum.  Pictures not included: a pile of kidney stones, a gallstone, and a display that tells the most horrifying amputation story ever.

Update: my mother says I should post the gross photo I showed her.  So when you read this, remember, my mother suggested this go in the post.