Artificial circulation device. Design by Sergey Bryukhonenko. Moscow, 1936.
This model was used in animal experiments to prove that the artificial circulation of blood throughout the body could be maintained throughout an operation. Artificial circulation machines continue to be indispensable in modern heart and lung surgery.
Trouvé device. France, early 20th century.
This device was used for physical therapy. It belonged to Evgeny Ganike (1869–1948), a colleague of the famous Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov (1849–1936).
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Phalloendoprostheses (male genital internal prostheses). Designer — Viktors Kalnbērzs. USSR, Riga, 1987. Polyethylene plastic.
These inflatable prostheses were introduced experimentally in 1970 for cases of erectile dysfunction.
Provita, a local darsonvalisation apparatus. Produced by V. Baumgartner in Basel, Switzerland, sold by V. Knecht in Riga. 1927.
Darsonvalisation is a type of electrotherapy named after its inventor, French physicist Jacques-Arsène d'Arsonval (1851‒1940). This instrument applies a high-frequency impulse current of variable intensity to the skin to produce a positive effect on blood circulation, the metabolism and the central nervous system. This method has been used by physical therapists and cosmetologists for over a century.
Medical leech vessel. France, mid-18th century. Tin.
Set of surgical knives and instruments in a redwood case. England, London, mid-late 19th century.
These instruments were used for surgical manipulations such as the amputation of extremities, extraction of bullets and wound bleeding suppression.
Childbirth labour pain-mitigation apparatus. USSR, Krasnogvardeyets factory, 1959.
This is an extremely rare model because production was discontinued shortly after it was introduced. The women on whom the equipment was used had an allergic reaction to the material used in the face mask.
Set of bronchoscopy instruments. East Germany, early 1950s.
These GDR-produced instruments were used in order to examine lung disease patients at a number of hospitals in Riga from the late 1950s until the early 1980s.
Collection of Medical Technologies and Instruments
The study of the development of medical technologies — instruments, devices, prostheses and other implements — is one of the most exciting ways to decode the history of medicine. Some of these items have remained largely unchanged for 300 years, while others have transformed beyond recognition.
The Museum’s collection includes everything from ancient implements used by shamans and folk healers, to surgical instruments and electrotherapy machines, to artificial ventilation devices, stethoscopes, x-ray scanners, electrocardiographs, prostheses, eyeglasses, hearing aids, and many other items and appliances produced from the early 20th century till the 1970s.
Artificial circulation device. Design by Sergey Bryukhonenko. Moscow, 1936.
Trouvé device. France, early 20th century.
Phalloendoprostheses (male genital internal prostheses). Designer — Viktors Kalnbērzs. USSR, Riga, 1987. Polyethylene plastic.