Physicians’ Gallery

01/06/2026

This object is on permanent display in our Physicians’ Gallery.

Bust of James Young Simpson (1811-1870)

James Young Simpson is probably the most celebrated physician in Edinburgh’s history. Simpson was both President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and Professor of Midwifery at the University of Edinburgh. He made improvements to obstetric forceps and to hygiene practices during childbirth, but Simpson’s greatest achievement took place in 1847 when he became the first to demonstrate the effect of chloroform on humans.

Simpson, and his assistants, trialled a range of dangerous chemicals on themselves. When chloroform knocked them out, but didn’t kill them, they realised they had found the solution. Simpson’s innovation faced initial opposition – some doctors and religious authorities disagreed with the use of anaesthetics during childbirth, arguing that pain was ‘natural’. Simpson responded by saying that a physician’s role was to ‘mitigate suffering as well as prevent death’.

29/05/2026

18th century excuse for missing a doctor's appointment - 'I had no sooner gone from your House than I was attacked by certain honest Fellows who dragged me to the Tavern...'

http://cullenproject.ac.uk/docs/1494/

27/05/2026

This object is on display in our temporary exhibition ‘Rag: A History of Blood’.

Blood Pressure Monitor (c.1920)

This monitor was manufactured by a French company, Boulitte. The first blood pressure monitor had been invented, in 1881. Blood pressure had first been studied in animal experiments over 100 years earlier. This process had involved puncturing an artery and inserting a brass tube. But now this device could easily and painlessly be used to measure blood pressure without breaking the skin.

The device works in much the same way as modern monitors – a cuff made of non-expanding material is wrapped around the arm. Inside the cuff is a rubber bag. The bag is inflated until the pulse stops and the pressure is then decreased until the pulse begins again.

Find out more 👉 https://www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/rag-history-blood

25/05/2026

This object is on permanent display in our Physicians’ Gallery.

Scarificator (1800s)

Scarificators were first developed in the early 1700s, although they reached the peak of their use in the 1800s.

They have spring-loaded blades that deliver many cuts simultaneously. The depth of the cuts can be changed by altering the spring mechanism.

Therapeutic bloodletting remained a standard form of treatment into the 1800s and, due to popular demand, leeches were increasingly expensive and difficult to come by. The cultivation of leeches by leech farmers became a thriving industry.

Scarificators were developed as a form of ‘artificial leech’. The anticoagulant effect of a live leech bite often made it difficult to stop the bleeding. It was also impossible to be sure exactly how much blood was removed when using leeches. The scarificator also had the advantage of being easy to transport and have on hand whenever the physician or surgeon required it.

22/05/2026

New podcast! 👉 https://www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/asylum-art

In our latest episode we’re talking about asylum art. And we’re focusing on a little volume of illustrations of patients at an asylum - the Royal Edinburgh Hospital. The illustrations show one patient playing a fiddle, another drinking a cup of tea.

22/05/2026

This book is on display in our temporary exhibition ‘Rag: A History of Blood’.

Prospero Alpini, De Medicina Aegyptiorum (1645)

Bloodletting was far from just a European practice and was carried out in parts of South America, Africa and across both South and East Asia. This illustration depicts bloodletting in 1500s Egypt. This book is a study of a range of Egyptian medical practices, including cauterisation, the removal of bladder stones and the ingredients of medicines.
The book’s author, Italian physician Prospero Alpini, recorded significant differences between Egyptian and European medicine, including the fact that women were permitted to work as physicians in Egypt.

In Europe, bloodletting was most often carried out by venesection (cutting a vein) or applying leeches, while in Egypt, as this image shows, the usual method was scarification, where the skin was scraped or cut with small knives.

Find out more 👉 https://www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/rag-history-blood

19/05/2026

New blog post! Exploring scientific books banned or censored by the Catholic church in Rome

Find out more 👉 https://www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/heritage-blog/banned-books

18/05/2026

Take a bit of the museum home! Many of the images on display in the Physicians' Gallery can be bought as prints in our online shop.

That includes this jaunty and athletic-looking mandrake plant 👉 https://shop.artuk.org/mandrake-561888.html

15/05/2026

Myth busting HIV/AIDS event!

📆 3 June, 6pm
💵 £3 (free for students)
📍 Online and in person at Queen Street, Edinburgh

Find out more 👉

Have your questions answered about HIV/AIDS

14/05/2026

We're launching a new history of medicine award!

Applicants must submit an abstract research paper of no more than 1,000 words.

Deadline: 14 August 2026
Award amount: £1,000

Award finalists will present their papers at a public event on 15 October 2026.

More info 👉 https://www.rcpe.ac.uk/education/royal-college-physicians-edinburgh-history-medicine-award