Location

Please note: The National Museum of Health and Medicine is temporarily closed to the public in order to install new exhibits for its 150th anniversary and grand opening celebration in May 2012. Please stay tuned to the Museum's website and Facebook page for updates and details.

The National Museum of Health and Medicine has been fascinating visitors since it opened in 1862 as the Army Medical Museum. NMHM is currently home to five major research collections comprising more than 25 million objects, including thousands of Civil War-era anatomical specimens, photographs and medical illustrations, and medical technology, such as field surgical kits and prosthetic devices. Among the most popular anatomical specimens and historical artifacts on display at the museum are those related to President Abraham Lincoln, including the bullet that ended his life and bone fragments and hair from the site of the wound. Also on display is the lower right leg of Major General Daniel E. Sickles, who was wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg. After his leg was amputated, he required that it be sent to the Army Medical Museum in a small box bearing a calling card with the message, “With the compliments of Major General D.E.S.” The collections are recognized as a National Historic Landmark by Congress.