Medicine and history are combined for the visitor at the Museum of Medical Progress in Prairie du Chien, Wis. The museum is housed in the restored military hospital of Old Fort Crawford, originally constructed in 1830 and near the site of William Beaumont's first studies of human digestion (see cover). The dioramas pictured on this page also are housed in the museum, along with other exhibits depicting the Indian medicine man, the military fort physician, the family doctor from horse-and-buggy days to the present, contributions of military medicine to present-day medical knowledge, and settings of a physician's office in 1850 and 1900. Another feature is the Stovall Hall of Health, which includes exhibits on such topics as space medicine, medical superstitions and quackery, and pioneer Wisconsin physicians.
The Museum of Medical Progress, open from May 1 to Oct 31, is a joint project of the Charitable, Educational, and Scientific Foundation