Chicago, Illinois - International Museum of Surgical Sciences

It's amazing -- the museum itself is a lovely old building by Lake Michigan (you can see the lake from the museum). Everywhere there is something odd and wonderful, like the case of fake legs I found, cases of odd Ancient Roman surgery tools, a case of kidney stones, Victorian quackery section with Violet Ray and ether masks...you need at least 2-3 hours to go through the place properly! It's great to go around Halloween too, though I am sure the medical students there thought we were the odd ones! [Nyx, 11/18/2009]

Nestled among the luxury high-rises of Chicago's Gold Coast lies the Museum of Surgical Sciences. It houses a fascinating array of instruments, artists' renderings and graphic descriptions of the history of surgery. I became especially squeamish at the sight of their collection of antique gynecological instruments. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable. Admission used to be free, but they now charge a nominal entry fee. [The Peabodys, 02/15/2000]

[RA: The International Museum of Surgical Science has a great collection of medical devices to amuse and horrify: 19th century tin enema syringes; Cornelius Solingen's fork for breast amputation (1684); a Shoe Fitter X-Ray machine; Victorian-era X-Ray proof underwear; 2000 year old trepanned skulls recovered from ancient tombs in Peru, and 15,000 other items. 1524 N. Lake Shore Drive]