History of Medicine

Discover NIH

The National Institutes of Health (NIH), a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the nation’s medical research agency — making important discoveries that improve health and save lives. NIH is made up of 27 Institutes and Centers, each with a specific research agenda, often focusing on particular diseases or body systems.

The National Library of Medicine is one of the 27 institutes of NIH and the largest biomedical library in the world. NLM envisions a future in which data and information transform and accelerate biomedical discovery and improve health and health care. The diverse centers, divisions, advisory bodies and other organizational units that make up NLM contribute in myriad ways to the Library’s mission including its History of Medicine Division (HMD). 

History of Medicine Division (HMD)

HMD collects, preserves, makes available, and interprets for diverse audiences one of the world’s richest collections of historical material related to health and disease. Spanning ten centuries, encompassing a variety of digital and physical formats, and originating from nearly every part of the globe. also advances history through its public service and partnerships. As stewards of a world-renowned collection that spans ten centuries we engage in forward-looking activities to provide wider and more comprehensive access to collections, reach new audiences, and to collect and preserve the historical materials of the future.

Discover the Collections

NLM is home to a constantly-growing collection of 28 million items and a variety of interrelated digital resources that deliver these collections and related data every day to millions of people around the world. Spanning ten centuries - from the 11th to the 21st - and originating from nearly every part of the world, this collection traces its roots to the early-nineteenth century.

Discover NLM Exhibitions

NLM exhibitions feature stories about history, society, and medicine drawn from the world-renowned collections of the NLM. Topics include history of lead poisoning in America, the yellow fever epidemic in 1793 in Philadelphia, African American surgeons, the history of women physicians, among others. Discover something new about the past!

Learn about the newest traveling exhibit, Promising Future, Complex Past: Artificial Intelligence and the Legacy of Physiognomy. Then visit the Network of the National Library of Medicine Traveling Exhibitions to learn how to host the exhibition.