S. Weir Mitchell and the Civil War Shock Therapy

Time: Noon

Place: College of Physicians of Philadelphia

Speaker: Robert Hicks, PhD, Director, Mütter Museum/Historical Library, and William Maul Measey Chair for the History of Medicine

The College’s new permanent exhibition "Broken Bodies, Suffering Spirits: Injury, Death, and Healing in Civil War Philadelphia," acknowledges the pioneering neurological work by physicians S. Weir Mitchell, William W. Keen, and George R. Morehouse at Turner’s Lane Hospital in Philadelphia to study diseases and wounds of the nerves. Among the unusual and innovative therapies for recovering Civil War soldiers was electrotherapy. Mitchell published two treatises on his wartime treatments in which electrical devices feature in case histories as innovative and indispensable devices. This illustrated presentation explores the link between Mitchell’s experimental electrical technology and the creation of a new medical discipline. See why sick soldiers feared electrocution when they saw Dr. Mitchell in their ward!

Speaker: Robert Hicks, PhD, Director of the Mütter Museum and the Historical Medical Library, and William Maul Measey Chair for the History of Medicine. He has worked with museum-based education and exhibits for over three decades, primarily as a consultant to historic sites and museums.

The College’s Fall Session of Food & Thought lectures will be presented at noon on the third Wednesday of each month and run until December.

A $13.00 registration fee includes lecture and lunch: sandwich (turkey, beef, and vegetarian options available), dessert, and beverage. Register by clicking "Visit site" above.