Health and Medicine

Civil War surgical instruments and case

Civil War surgical instruments and case, 1861-1865. This kit used by a Fifth Minnesota Infantry Regiment surgeon, with its prominent amputation saws and scarificators for bloodletting, illustrates the reliance of physicians in the era before germ theory on "heroic" medical interventions.

How Health and Medicine Have Shaped the State

Progressive Public Health, Innovative Medical Enterprise, and More

Expert Essay: Jennifer Gunn, Director of the Program in the History of Medicine at the University of Minnesota, touches on more than 300 years of state history to explain what has made Minnesota a medical mecca.

MN90: The Mayo Brothers Make Medical History

The Mayo Clinic treats more than half a million people each year in Rochester, Minnesota, and in facilities in Florida and Arizona. MN90 producer Marisa Helms reports that the Mayo family philosophy of team-based patient care was established early on, and continues to be a hallmark of the world-famous hospital.