About the Ars Medicina: The History of Medicine in Philadelphia Walk in Philadelphia
As one of the largest, most powerful American cities during the 18th century, it's little surprise that Philadelphia became a center of science, research, and medical innovation. From the site of the first hospital in the colonies to its museum of medical oddities, Philadelphia provides a kind of textbook in which we can read the evolution of modern medicine in America.
Our three-hour walk begins at the home of Dr. Philip Syng Physick, the “Father of American Surgery.” Physick, one of the preeminent medical practitioners in the young nation, lectured at the University of Pennsylvania, treated a consortium of prominent early Americans such as President Andrew Jackson, and helped innovate the medical field in the early nineteenth century. Although only open to the public on a limited basis, we'll enter the house with an advance reservation and use it as a backdrop to discuss the role of science during the early period of American history and the acceleration in advances that takes plac
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As one of the largest, most powerful American cities during the 18th century, it's little surprise that Philadelphia became a center of science, research, and medical innovation. From the site of the first hospital in the colonies to its museum of medical oddities, Philadelphia provides a kind of textbook in which we can read the evolution of modern medicine in America.
Our three-hour walk begins at the home of Dr. Philip Syng Physick, the “Father of American Surgery.” Physick, one of the preeminent medical practitioners in the young nation, lectured at the University of Pennsylvania, treated a consortium of prominent early Americans such as President Andrew Jackson, and helped innovate the medical field in the early nineteenth century. Although only open to the public on a limited basis, we'll enter the house with an advance reservation and use it as a backdrop to discuss the role of science during the early period of American history and the acceleration in advances that takes place after the Revolution.
Our walk will also include a visit to Christ Church’s burial ground. Besides containing the graves of a number of the nation’s founding fathers, this burial ground also serves as the final resting place for several of Philadelphia’s leading physicians, as well as victims of the yellow fever epidemics that ravaged the city in the 1790s. We'll discuss that epidemic and others as watershed events that led scientists and doctors—many of whom lie here—to innovate new therapies.
Pennsylvania Hospital, the nation’s first hospital that traces its founding to Benjamin Franklin, is next. Here, we'll get a chance to see one of the oldest surgery auditoriums—an operating room set up as an instructional facility. Finally, we will head across town to the Mutter Museum at the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, the oldest professional medical organization in the country. This collection of medical oddities, including amazing archival photographs of unusual deformities, diseases, and other afflictions, will provide the finishing touches for our trip through Philadelphia’s medical history.
