3-D Movies: Teaching Surgical Techniques

CAMA Member News

3-D movies weren't always relegated to summer blockbusters at the local multiplex. They also served as important teaching tools for surgeons.

The Archives of the American College of Surgeons website recently featured a story titled "3-D Movies at the Clinical Congress" as their Highlight of the Month.

http://www.facs.org/archives/monthlyhighlight.html

http://www.facs.org/archives/previous.html

The American College of Surgeons annual Clinical Congress provides surgeons with an opportunity to observe surgical techniques in action. The drawback, historically, was the number of people who could comfortably observe the surgeries.

In 1929, films of surgeries at the Clinical Congress helped expose more people to new techniques. One of these films was even a "talkie!" By the late 1940s, attendees of the Clinical Congress could watch surgeries live via closed-circuit television. Soon afterward, they were televised in color, providing viewers with an even more "real" experience.

How could these teaching opportunities become even more real? Why, by using 3-D technology! While many people envision 1950s 3-D movies as strictly monster movie affairs, the Clinical Congress was using the same technology to impart surgical knowledge as early as 1951.

The Archives of the American College of Surgeons website features digital collections, collection highlights, and other wonderful resources. Take a moment to explore!

http://www.facs.org/archives/index.html

National Library of Medicine's Digital Collections

Research Tips

This year marks the 175th anniversary of the National Library of Medicine (NLM).  The NLM bills itself as the "World's Largest Medical Library," and it's no exaggeration.  But you don't have to visit the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, to get a taste of their collections.

The NLM collects and maintains a wide variety of historic material related to health and disease from not only the United States, but from all over the world.  It also houses material related to individuals and medical institutions from Chicago's past.  The NLM's digital collections include rare books and manuscripts, images, and audiovisual items that are easily searchable.

The National Library of Medicine's historical digital collections can be found here:

http://apps.nlm.nih.gov/175/treasures.cfm

Have you found material in the NLM's digital collections that might be of interest to a CAMA institution?  Let them know!  We always appreciate the opportunity to point our researchers in the right direction.

Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology Launches New Website

CAMA Member News

The Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology recently launched a revised website, which provides worldwide access to digitized gallery objects, rare book items, multimedia files, archival collections, and artwork.

http://www.woodlibrarymuseum.org/

The archives component of the new website includes information on personal papers of individuals important to the history of anesthesia, institutional collections, and ephemera and print advertising.

The Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology is located in Park Ridge, Ill., northwest of Chicago. 

The Chicago Area Medical Archivists congratulate archivist and CAMA member Felicia Reilly on her institution's helpful and lovely new website.  Additional content is being added all the time, so check back often!