If you’ve ever walked by the beautiful three-story glass building on the corner of Cambridge Street and North Grove Street, you most likely wouldn’t think twice about stepping inside. But, those who have looked past the extremely long name and visited the Paul S. Russell, MD Museum of Medical History and Innovation (otherwise known as the Russell Museum) can tell you that a world of innovation and exploration sits just beyond the glass doors. The best part? Admission is always free!
The Russell Museum consists of three floors, each with its own themes focusing on the 200-year evolution of health care and medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. Mass General, which accepted its first patient in 1821, is one of the nation’s oldest hospitals. The hospital has become known for its advances in medicine and prides itself in numerous accomplishments, including:
- The first public demonstration of surgical anesthesia by William T.G. Morton and John Collins Warren (1846)
- The identification of appendicitis by Reginald Fitz (1886)
- The establishment of the first medical social service by Richard Cabot and Ida Cannon (1905)
- The first replantation of a severed arm by a surgical team led by Ronald Malt (1962)