At the entrance of Perkins Library is the Mary Duke Biddle Room, a gallery room that showcases recurring exhibits. Off to the side is the Josiah Charles Trent History of Medicine Room. Though small, it delivers rich insights into the evolution of how we have thought about and tried to protect our own health.
The history of medicine is a subdiscipline of the broader history of science, focusing on the evolution of medicine over the millenia. Medicine's story begins around 2600 B.C.E. -- with the eventually deified Egyptian chancellor Imhotep -- and continues into the modern day. The exhibits in the Josiah Charles Trent Room choose to focus on a specific period of this history, starting in the midst of the 1500s and heavily emphasizing the last 200 years. In doing so, they pick one of the most vibrant times in medical history, where most of the discipline as we know it was codified and developed.
The room is named for Dr. Josiah Charles Trent (Trinity '34), husband of Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans (Women's College '39), who accumulated a sizable collection of medical history memorabilia before his early death from lymphosarcoma, a lymphatic cancer, in 1948. In 1943, he donated the Trent Collection -- consisting of his medical memorabilia and other items -- to Perkins Library and provided additional funding to construct a display room. In 1956, Duke constructed a new room in the original Duke Medical Library in Davidson building to house the Trent Collection. In 1975, the exhibit relocated to the Seeley G. Mudd Building, which would become the site of the new Medical Center Library. The exhibit would not be relocated to the Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library until the summer of 2011.
The items on display run the gamut. In one corner, there is a small but interesting history of aspirin, a commonly-used medicine that is used as a fever and pain treatment. Viewers see how people have used willow bark as a medical treatment since ancient times and how the drug's delivery evolved from consumption of pure bark to powders to pills. In another corner, students see a collection of items used for weighing and feeding infants, including a large scale and a number of glass bottles used to feed them with formula. Scattered throughout the room are intricate small ivory manikins -- human models used for medical education -- complete with organ systems, which were used to teach people basic anatomy.
In the center of the room is a little table containing 3-D printed versions of these same manikins as well as more underneath a table. These 3-D printed versions were created as part of an effort to make the exhibit more intractable without compromising the condition of exhibit pieces. The effort also allowed the library greater insight into its own collections through the study of digital models.
Alongside the back wall of the room is a sub-exhibit devoted to Dr. Richard Payne -- the now-deceased Esther Colliflower Professor Emeritus of Medicine and Divinity. He was a major figure in pain relief development and palliative care and was known for his efforts in reducing racial gaps in said areas. This problem persists to this day, as racial disparities exist in the types and amounts of pain treatment provided. The exhibit displays Dr. Payne's personal belongings including photos, magazine profiles, excerpts from speeches, educational materials and some medical equipment. It is a touching and fitting tribute to a man who devoted his life to easing the pain of the suffering.
Along a different wall is a small collection of Chinese medical equipment and illustrations. Next to this is a large collection of medical gear, including surgery kits, bloodletting needles and bottles, medicine chests and photos of people and equipment.
Overall, the exhibit is intellectually stimulating and visually entertaining. The pieces chosen all have fascinating stories behind them. The artifacts are paired with well-written commentaries and descriptions that give context, while still leaving room for the art to tell a story of its own.