Museum of Medicine and Health

Find out how the Museum of Medicine and Health uses its collections to engage with students, staff and communities today.

The Museum of Medicine and Health is a collection of historical medical instruments and equipment. Spanning more than 300 years, the collection represents a significant educational and cultural asset for the faculty.

About the collections

Many of the objects have been donated by people who have worked in medical and health professions, making this a socially important historical record of medicine and healthcare in the region. For example, Dr Nasim Naqvi, a retired Bolton anaesthetist gifted fine instruments made by J&W Wood, a Manchester surgical instrument company who were in business between 1833 and 1933.

The collection boasts rare items such as a unique brass Penicillin syringe – a rare survivor from the Second World War. Explore a 3D model of the syringe.

The museum also reflects familiar areas of healthcare. Find out more about themes in the collection.

Find out more about how the museum was established with the opening of the Stopford Building, in 1973. Visit the Museum's history page.

Connect with us

The museum has an Academic lead in Dr Harriet Palfreyman in the Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine and part-time Heritage Officer, Stephanie Seville. Stephanie makes the collection accessible to students, staff communities, and at public exhibitions and engagement events.

• Connect

The museum shares just some of the rich heritage of the Faculty. Read more about Faculty and University innovations across a broad range of biological, medical and health sciences.

• History and heritage

Teaching and learning

The collection is embedded in courses including Optometry, Psychology and Medicine. In addition, for over a decade, the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures loans objects for the MA in Art Gallery and Museum Studies.

Students gain hands on and practical experiences and the museum hosts student placements to develop skills and confidence in public engagement.

British Science Week schools’ annual event hosted at Manchester Museum means students can use the faculty’s museum collection to develop engagement experience. Read more about past student placements.

Digital collections

Browse a carefully selected 24 objects in Manchester Digital Collections to discover the breadth of the collection and visit online exhibition Instruments of Change to find stories to highlight important moments in medical history in Manchester.