The 1700s artist James Gillray produced engravings of medical treatments. In these prints the unfortunate patient can be seen receiving laxatives, vomits and foul-tasting medicines before he begins the course of bloodletting shown in this image Find out more in Rag👉 www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/rag...

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 Find out more in Rag👉 www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/rag

Free #Edinburgh exhibition If you're in town for #EdFringe check out our exhibition Rag. Exploring the history of blood from transfusions to menstruation 📍 Physicians’ Gallery, 11 Queen Street, EH2 1JQ 📅 Mon – Fri, 10am – 4.30pm Find out more 👉 www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/rag...

This is a Zodiac Man. These showed the relationship between parts of the body and the zodiac. Stories were told to explain these connections – the heart was Leo because lions were brave, Cancer was the chest wall because crabs have shells. Find out more in Rag👉 www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/rag...

This 1785 recipe, to make a powder of your blood, describes how to cook the blood before storing it in a bladder. This treatment, the recipe emphasises, 'will be no cure to another' - each person must only ingest their own blood. Find out more in Rag www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/rag...

19th Century Japanese Woodblock Prints Creatively Illustrate the Inner Workings of the Human Body www.openculture.com/2026/07/japa...

19th Century Japanese Woodblock Prints Creatively Illustrate the Inner Workings of the Human Body

Folks with a passing knowledge of ukiyo-e, the Japanese woodblock print art form popular in the 17th through 19th centuries, will be familiar with its landscapes, as well as its portraits of courtesan...

openculture.com

A 1785 chapbook recipe for 'Beardiness', including watercress and sealions. Too much beard? Try the blood of a bat!

Every six months we re-roll the alchemical Ripley Scroll which is on display in our Gallery. This is to help preserve the scroll from damage, and to give you something new to look at! Stop by and see the newly unrolled biting bird, menstruating dragon and Hermes, the alchemist.

Late 1800s obstetrics lecture, showcasing teaching materials including anatomical dolls and medical illustrations

Maria Sibylla Merian’s early 18thc natural history illustrations, she was a major contributor to #entomology – particularly with her research on the metamorphosis of butterflies

This is one of the first books on medical care for horses. For the cure ‘of the biting with a mad Dogge’, Markham recommends covering the wound with goat dung, elderwort and 40 walnuts crushed together to make a paste

Dr Kadambini Ganguli, was a woman of many firsts. One of the first 2 women graduates of India & the British Empire & the first Indian woman to graduate & practice Western Medicine in India. Discover more in this blog by Dr Theeba Krishnamoorthy 👉 history.rcp.ac.uk/blog/dr-kada... #SAHM2026

This board game was created by the Lothian Health Board and Lothian Regional Council as part of a campaign aimed at raising awareness of the risks surrounding HIV and AIDS Find out more in Rag👉 www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/rag...

These bags were created as part of The Blood Bag Project. The project has collected over 1,500 bags from all over the world, including Australia, Japan and Russia. Some have been made by artists, some by patients and some by school pupils. Find out more in Rag👉 www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/rag...

In the 19th century, physicians occasionally used strychnine to treat paralysis. However, the drug’s potential for toxicity was immense; the violent, rigid convulsions it triggered were often indistinguishable from tetanus, leading to frequent diagnostic errors. #MedicalHistory

Suffering from a gouty disposition? According to 18thc physician William Cullen the best treatment was opium, brandy and a little amusement cullenproject.ac.uk/docs/3910/

We know who owned them. We don't know who they were. These extraordinary 17th C anatomical tables consist of six panels, showing the preserved veins, arteries & nerves of real human bodies, & two animal organs dissected at the University of Padua with extraordinary skill & care. 1/4

New podcast episode! We’re digging into the gnarly history of blood transfusion. From dog blood to black urine, a man is allegedly kidnapped off the streets while scientists vie for primacy in this story of innovation, experimentation and bad ideas. 👉 www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/blo...

Join us for brains, biology and babies! #edinburgh www.eventbrite.co.uk/cc/family-ac...

Family Activities

Workshops, family days and activities for young people exploring health and medicine. We explore past and current medicine - from plague and cholera to wee, poo and snot.

eventbrite.co.uk

Rosie Baruah@rosieicm.bsky.social · last mo.

If you and your child(ren) at a loose end next Tuesday 7th July come along to the very fun very free drop in sessions at @physiciansgallery.bsky.social, Queen St, Edinburgh! (I will be there as a helper and am quite excited!!) www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/bra... @rcpedin.bsky.social

For hundreds of years illustrations of women’s reproductive organs were focused on the foetus. These 1834 illustrations are unusual because they show the female reproductive organs without focusing on pregnancy. Find out more in Rag👉 www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/rag...

Find out more about @physiciansgallery.bsky.social workshops: www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/eve...

Rana Fetit@ranafetit.bsky.social · last mo.

This October, I will be doing my children's workshop at the @rcpedin.bsky.social Physician's Gallert, so grab your tickets to come and explore how brain works, what it’s made of, how we study it and how everyday experiences help shape our brains. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/drop-in-ac...

This #marginalia lion is perching on the side of George Ripley's seminal 15th century alchemical scroll. Lions represent sulphur in alchemy and when paired with mercury (a lioness) they produce the Philosopher's Stone

Feeling the heat? 🥵 Try these herbal remedies for cooling the blood from our 18th century herbal notebook. heritage.rcpsg.ac.uk/items/show/187

We are very pleased to have unveiled our first painting of a global majority doctor. Dr Krishnabai Kelavkar was one of the earliest women physicians in India. She was a social reformer and the founder of the Kelavkar Medical Centre in Kolhapur.

The first binaural (two earpiece) stethoscope was invented in the 1850s. It was developed after the arrival of Malaysian rubber in Europe - material necessary to create the flexible tubing used in these stethoscopes This object is on display in our Gallery 👉 www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/phy...

This image shows the first blood transfusion into a human - by Jean-Baptiste Denys in 1667. Two men died in these trials and public opinion quickly turned against transfusion. 200 years passed before transfusion began to be accepted again. Find out more in Rag👉 www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/rag...

We're hiring! We're looking for a Project Library Cataloguer to catalogue our modern (post-1900) library collections Find out more 👉 www.rcpe.ac.uk/college/proj...

The mortars and pestles used by doctors and apothecaries who made large quantities of medicines as part of their work could be very large. This mortar and pestle weighs over 16 kilograms (two and a half stone) This object is on display in our Gallery 👉 www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/phy...

#OTD 1912, 313 years after our College was founded, Jamini Sen became our 1st female Fellow. Sen was an advocate for better working conditions for female doctors & improved access to care for female patients in India. Her portrait by Grace Payne-Kumar, is the 1st of a woman to hang in College Hall

From mythical creatures to the natural world to alchemical experiments, this blog delves into symbols present in our collections to reveal their queer significance www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/her...