A Mysterious Medical Chest

Developed in collaboration with: 

The Story

Mulhouse Building Royal Victoria Hospital Chest

At the historic Mulhouse Building at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast (now part of the Healthcare Library of Northern Ireland) can be found a mysterious chest containing medical objectsNo-one is sure how it got there.

The chest seems to be connected to a local doctor, James McCleery, surgeon to the male side of the Poor House at Clifton House (founded by the Belfast Charitable Society). James died in 1847 during the Great Famine (1845-52) after sadly contracting famine fever from his patients. His son, also called James, was then appointed as Poor House surgeon instead. The items date from across the 19th and 20th centuries. 

In 2023, the Epidemic Belfast team worked with the library team to work out what doctors once used the various items for

The items will be exhibited at Clifton House and in the Healthcare Library in 2023 and 2024.

Developed by Ian Miller and Rebecca Watterson (Ulster University) with Kriss Leslie (Queen’s University Belfast/Healthcare Library of Northern Ireland).

Blood Letting Equipment.

Cupping set collection.
Cups.
Spirit Lamp.
Cupping Kit.
Scarificators.
Scarificator.
Scarificator.

The ancient technique of bloodletting was still used in the late 19th-century to help cure a wide range of ailments. Bloodletting was thought to restore the system’s equilibrium by draning or purging the system of excess humours.

The small metal box (bottom row) contains sharp blades which emerge from the grated holes as the lever is pushed. This was used for scarification. The blades cut through capillaries beneath the skin after an initial cut with a lancet.

The cups (top row) would be placed over the wound, and blood drawn out with the accompanying syringe (which created a vaccuum) or a wick, set alight, located in the bell shaped object (both middle row). 

Ophthalmoscope

Mayer & Meltzer Opthalmoscope.
Mayer & Meltzer Opthalmoscope.
Mayer & Meltzer Opthalmoscope.

This is a Liebrich opthalmoscope. It is a simple retinal mirror on a wooden handle, held in a leather case with spare lenses.

Mayer and Meltzer were a London-based company  (of German origin) who specialised in making medical and surgical equipment. The opthalmoscope was first invented in Germany in 1851. Patients with eye problems would have encountered the ophthalmoscope when having the health of their retina, optic disc and other parts of the eye examined.

Pupils were dilated by shining a light into the eye. The various lenses offered a simple, effective way of examining parts of the eye that would otherwise had been hidden. 

John’s Cocaine Prescription, 1907

John's cocaine prescription box.
John's cocaine prescription box.

In the late nineteenth century, cocaine was commonly prescribed for a range of ailments including morphine addiction, seasickness, hay fever, pain relief and the congestion caused by colds and flu.

Advertised as a stimulant,  only later did it become clearer that cocaine was highly addictive.

Connolly Norman was a prominent Irish addiction specialist who considered cocaine to be worse than morphine for its addictive properties. Famously, cocaine was an ingredient in coca-cola in the early days of the drink.

Surgeon’s Amputation Kit

Surgeon's Amputation Kit.
Surgeon's Amputation Kit.
Surgeon's Amputation Kit.

A nineteenth-century surgeon’s amputation set. The space in the bottom left-hand corner would have housed a tourniquet for the patient’s use.

As well as the prominently placed saw attached to the lid, the set also contains a number of smaller knives and blades used for precision.

The set was also probably used for post-mortem investigations following a suspicious death. On the lid can still be seen the dried blood of the amputees.

Hypodermic Syringe.

Hypodermic Syringe.

Hypodermic syringes were used from the 1800s. An Irish physician, Francis Rynd, invented the hollow needle in the 1840s. In the 1850s, Scottish physician Alexander Wood then developed a syringe with a needle fine enough to pierce the skin, and with the contents visible by using glass and a plunger.

This syringe is made from metal and glass and probably dates from the early 20th century. Disposable, plastic hypodermic syringes came into use more recently in 1949.

Trepanning kit.

Trepanning tools.
Trepanning Kit.
Trepanning tools.
Trepanning Kit.

Trephinning dates back to prehistoric times, and is a surgical technique involving removing part of the skull. In pre-modern times, it was believed to release harmful spirits and demons from the body.

Controversially, trepanning was revived in the late 19th century by physicians who believed that it might release pressure relating to the build-up of fluid for conditions including meningitis, severe headache and ‘general paralysis of the insane’ (later stage syphilis).

Diabetes Thermometer

Diabetes thermometer.
Diabetes thermometer.
Diabetes thermometer.

A diabetes hydrometer still in its original box used as a diabetes-testing uriameter. A hydrometer measures the ratio of a specific liquid to water. A diabetes patient would have been tested to see how much sugar was dissolved in their urine by a doctor who placed the hydrometer’s mercury-filled bulb in the liquid. The bulb then sank to a certain point and the amount of sugar could be read on the scale.

Plasters

Box of plasters with knives.
Box of plasters with knives.
Box of plasters with knives.

Adhesive plasters were invented in 1845, and were designed so that injured people could apply them.

Travelling Surgeon's Kit

Forceps.
Forceps.
Travelling surgeon's kit.
Travelling surgeon's kit.
Forceps.

This is thought to be a surgical kit with various instruments used by a busy doctor who had been called out to visit female patients giving birth. The kit still contains a large number of forceps and surgical tools.

Medicines in a leather case

Four medicine bottles in a case (including quinine, digestive enzymes and unknown poison.
Four medicine bottles in a case (including quinine, digestive enzymes and unknown poison.
Four medicine bottles in a case (including quinine, digestive enzymes and unknown poison.
Four medicine bottles in a case (including quinine, digestive enzymes and unknown poison.
Four medicine bottles in a case (including quinine, digestive enzymes and unknown poison.

In the nineteenth century, major pharmaceutical firms such as Wellcome Burrough would send samples of their products to doctors, often wrapped in attractive leather cases.

This case still contains bottles used for quinine, digest-enzymes, and an ominous bottle of unspecified poison. The Victorians routinely complained of digestive problems, and quinine was also prescribed for these.

Powders

Powder pouch.
Powder pouches.
Powder pouch.
Powder pouch.

A box of medicinal powders purchased in Belfast’s various medical halls. The Hippo Powder appears to have had two uses – as an expectorant that to remove coughy phlegm and, in higher doses an emetic intended to cause vomiting. Boric acid was commonly used as an antiseptic for external wounds and problems. Salines are useful for laxative purposes.