• Medical history museums exhibit historical medical equipment.surgical book image by JASON WINTER from Fotolia.com
  
  Going to the doctor for an immunization or check-up is a routine practice nowadays. But how did modern medicine, complete with its state-of-the-art equipment, intricate surgical procedures and preventative screenings, come to be? Medical history museums around the country feature medical artifacts and model facilities---even medicinal plant gardens---that would look more familiar to those who lived decades, and even centuries, before us, and provide us with a fascinating glimpse of the past.
  
  

Indiana Medical History Museum

• The Indiana Medical History Museum is located in Western Indianapolis at what used to be the Central State Hospital. Housed in the oldest surviving pathology building in the country, this museum features exhibits on medical history from the early 19th century. Exhibits include medical equipment, a classic-style doctor's office, histories, photographs, antique body models and information on modern-day medicine. Visitors must take a one-hour guided tour, which starts every hour starting at 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. The museum's medicinal plant garden is open every Saturday from June to September.
  
  Indiana Medical History Museum
  
  3045 W. Vermont St.
  
  Indianapolis, IN 46222
  
  317-635-7329
  
  imhm.org
  
  

Dittrick Museum of Medical History

• Dittrick Museum of Medical History is located on the premises of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. This museum features medical artifacts, such as a 19th century amputating set and antiseptic sprayer, a mid-20th century defibrillator and an artificial kidney machine from the 1960s. Visitors can meander through historical models, including a pharmacy, doctors' offices and hospital treatment rooms. Museum hours are available by phone. Students and scholars alike may use the on-site Allen Memorial Medical Library.
  
  Dittrick Museum of Medical History
  
  Dittrick Medical History Center
  
  11000 Euclid Avenue
  
  Cleveland, OH 44106
  
  216-368-3648
  
  cwru.edu/artsci/dittrick/site2/museum/
  
  

Salinas Museum of Medical History

• Northern California's Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System in south-central Salinas houses the Museum of Medical History. The museum, located in the compound's Downing Resource Center, features a model 1920s doctor's office, a 19th century surgery kit and an exhibit on the Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System. The museum is open every weekday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
  
  Museum of Medical History
  
  Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System
  
  450 East Romie Lane
  
  Salinas, CA 93901
  
  831-757-4333
  
  svmh.com/community/medicalhistorymuseum.aspx
  
  

Gold Country Medical History Museum

• The Gold Country Medical History Museum is located in Auburn, just northeast of Sacramento. The museum is housed in a historical Victorian-era hospital built in 1855 and features medical equipment and model medical facilities from the 1800s and early 1900s, when medical discovery was flourishing. This museum also has a unique exhibit on medical treatment for early gold miners.
  
  Gold Country Medical History Museum
  
  219 Maple Street
  
  Auburn, CA 95603
  
  530-885-1252
  
  oldtownauburnca.com/list.php?cat=5⊂=5