History of Medicine

July 2018 Historical Book of the Month

June 28, 2018

  This month’s historical book selection is The Anatomy of Melancholy, What it is, with all the kinds, causes, symptoms, prognostics & several cures of it. Philosophically, Medicinally, Historically opened & cut up, by Robert Burton [Democritus Junior] (1576-1640).  Initially published in 1621, Burton edited and augmented four subsequent editions, and packed his psychological tome […]


Archivists Visit Nixon Library

June 1, 2018

On Thursday, May 24, a group from the Society of Southwest Archivists toured the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library. They were welcomed by a thoughtful selection of classic and rare books, including works by Andreas Vesalius (De Humani Corporis Fabrica – 1543), Bernhard Siegfried Albinus (Tables of the Skeleton and Muscles of the Human Body – […]


We Have a Winner!: The 2018 History of the Health Sciences Essay Award

April 9, 2018

On March 29, the winner of the Danny Jones History of the Health Sciences Essay Award, Farhan Ahmad, was presented with a check by Senior Director of Libraries Owen Ellard. Farhan won the 2018 competition with his essay, Knee History: From Early Developments to the Total Knee Replacement. The annual $500 award is sponsored by […]


47th Annual Friends Dinner a Success with Talk on History of Race

November 7, 2017

The 47th Annual Dinner of the Friends of the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library was held on Wednesday, November 1, 2017 at the Old San Francisco Steakhouse. This year’s dinner hosted seventy- five attendees including students from all six schools at the Health Science center, the Voelcker Biomedical Research Academy, and UTSA. The evening kicked […]


Gold Stemmed Pessaries: A Shadow of the Past

September 11, 2017

Although the above medical device appears to just be a thingamajig from the local hardware store, it is not. It is a spring-stem wishbone pessary first developed in Germany in the 1880s and used through the late 1930s. Generally, today’s medical pessaries are used for three types of issues: a supportive device for organ prolapse, […]


The History of Enemas: A History of Medicine Society Event

March 6, 2017

Presentation by Daniel Rosenthal, M.D. Thursday, March 16th, 2017 at 6:00 PM Briscoe Library, Howe Conference Room (5th floor)  The History of Medicine Society is a student-run organization,  meetings are open to the public. Light refreshments will be served! From the need to clean the colon of royal war elephants in India to the job of shepherding the […]


Technology Sandbox Coming Soon to the UT Health Briscoe Library

January 11, 2017

  The Briscoe Library Technology Sandbox, an area with interactive work spaces and some of the newest technology to enhance medical education, is quickly coming together on the main floor of the library. Comfortable seating, desks, and a large worktable have been installed along with a 75 inch monitor now available for use. Soon, the space […]


Upcoming 2016 Events for the Friends of the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library

October 3, 2016

The Friends of the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library are committed to the development and use of an exceptional collection of books and manuscripts relating to the history of medicine and the health sciences. The collection was established through the efforts of Dr. Pat Ireland Nixon (1883-1965), who was born in Guadalupe County, attended Johns Hopkins […]


August 2016 Historical Book of the Month

August 1, 2016

The August 2016 Historical Book of the Month highlights the oldest resource in the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library, De Medicina, published in Milan in 1481. Aulus Cornelius Celsus was a first-century Roman historian who compiled this set of treatises as a home health reference for wealthy Patrician families. It includes principles of good surgery, dental […]


July 2016 Historical Book of the Month

July 5, 2016

This month’s featured historical treasure is Osteographia, or The Anatomy of the Bones by William Cheselden. Published in London in 1753, this exquisite volume includes depictions of human and animal skeletons in interesting vignettes and in lifelike poses. His artists, Gerard van der Gucht and Jacob Schijnvoet, were the first to use the camera obscura […]