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Origin and history

The Musée d'Histoire de la Médecine is a Parisian institution dependent on the Paris-Cité University, located on the second floor of a building built in 1905, on the site of an old library. It originated in the 18th-century cabinet of anatomy, created under Louis XV thanks to the surgical instruments collection of Professor Lafaye, then director of the Academy. These objects, offered to the institution, formed a "surgery arsenal" for medical education.

During the Revolution, the health schools were founded with the mission of bringing together libraries, surgical instruments and anatomical collections. The museum of Paris, inaugurated on October 16, 1795 (24 An IV salesman), exhibits wax, wood or fabric-painted pieces under the direction of Jean-Baptiste Thillaye, the first curator. His son, Augustin Thillaye, succeeded him, while Honoré Fragonard and painter Lemonnier contributed to enriching the background with pathological anatomical reproductions.

The collections extend with contributions from the Academy of Sciences, the Veterinary School of Houses-Alfort and the Hotel-Dieu. In 1921, the museum moved to the School of Surgery, before opening to the public in 1994. Its holdings, among the oldest in Europe, include 2,000 commemorative medals, 1,600 autographs, 19th century medical kits, and a collection of 271 tokens from the Faculty of Medicine (1636–1793), witnesses to administrative practices under the Old Regime.

The museum also preserves an artistic heritage: 1,000 engravings, portraits like that of Louis XV (offered by the king himself), and ex-libris of doctors. These elements illustrate the evolution of medical knowledge, operational techniques and major epidemics, while emphasizing the educational role of the museum since its creation.

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