England’s Vagina Museum and seven other (highly specific) collections to add to your medical travel bucket list

The Vagina Museum in England is celebrating the milestone of its 9th birthday.Yes, you read that right. A whole museum dedicated to showing off and explaining this one part of human anatomy. It describes itself as “the world's first bricks and mortar museum dedicated to vaginas, vulvas and the gynaecological anatomy.” And it’s open to the public, so you can add it to your medical travel bucket list.But the Vagina Museum isn’t the only museum or collection dedicated to a single body part. Sure, there are lots of general medical and health museums you could visit. Take the Canadian Museum of Health Care in Kingston Ontario, as an example. Or Belgium’s Musée de la Médecine; the U.S.’s National Museum of Health and Medicine (which boasts 25-million artifacts); or the Musée d'histoire de la médecine in Paris (which resides in the historic École de Médecine building).But what about museums with a more narrowed focus, which zero-in on single body part or disease. We found 10 but if you know of others, let us know!1. The Vagina Museum, London England, Bethnal Green. Founded in 2017, one of the founders claimed its creation was partly in response to creating something that could complement Iceland’s Penis Museum (more on that below). A big driver was to help reduce stigma and shame away from female genitalia.“We have a vision of a world where no one is ashamed of their bodies, everyone has bodily autonomy and all of humanity works together to build a society that is free and equal,” reads its website. Exhibits have included topics such as the history, cultural attitudes and historical treatments relating to endometriosis, periods, menopause, cultural attitudes towards female fertility, taboos, addressing myths relating to vaginas, artistic representation and more. 2. Phallogical Museum, Reykjavik Iceland. More commonly known as the Penis Museum, it started when a teacher was given a bull penis specimen as a joke in 1974. It became a theme, the teacher was given more, and a collection formed. Eventually there was enough to establish a museum. The museum contains a collection of phalluses attained from a wide variety of animals and sea-life including whales, and a variety of mammals from Iceland and around the world. There are educational descriptors and histories. There is also a coffee shop that sells craft beer and penis shaped waffles. You can imagine what the gift shop offers.3. The Bionic Ear Collection, Melbourne, Australia. Haven’t heard of it? Listen closely! It’s a permanent collection in the Museums Victoria Collection celebrating the birth of the cochlear implant. The implant was initially developed by Australian researchers in the 1960s. The collection comprises over 250 items including early and later protoypes of the implant. The collection also includes clinical trial implants, bench-top electronics used to develop both the implant circuitry, and external speech processors. Work on cochlear implants continues at the nearby Bionics Institute which also does work on other types of implants for the human body. 4. Museum of Vision Science, Waterloo, Ontario. This museum can be found on the campus of the University of Waterloo which houses one of only two optometry schools in Canada. This museum has exhibits discussing the history of optics and vision science in Canada. It has an impressive collection of instruments ranging from early spectacles, to examination equipment, to prosthetic eyes. There is also a wide range of glasses, showing how fashion and function has changed over the years. The website says it is temporarily closed, so check before you go.5. Banting House, London, Ontario. Last but not least is a single-themed medical related museum in Canada. This museum is in a house once owned by Dr. Fredrick Banting who played a pivotal role in the developement of insulin. The exhibits discuss his life as well as details about diabetes and the work on insulin.6. Hippocrates Museum on Kos Island in Greece. A way for doctors to get back to their medical roots. This is a small museum operated by the International Hippocratic Foundation which has displays relating to Hippocrates and his life and times, as well a botanical garden. Hippocrates is believed to have been born on Kos.7. The Meguro Parasitological Museum, in Toyko, Japan. Humans aren’t the only thing that can suffer from (or benefit from) parasites, but this museum includes human medical issues arising from parasites. The place is attached to a private research facility. It also has a library which contains 60,000 parasite specimens, and displays of over 300 preserved specimens. You can see an 8.8 metre long preserved tapeworm. You might want to save eating lunch until after your visit.8. Manipal Museum of Anatomy and Pathology, located at the Kasturba Medical College in Manipal, Karnataka India. Need a refresher on anatomy? The Manipal Museum has over 3,000 specimens. The museum got its start in the 1950s by an anatomy professor at a local medical college who developed methods for preserving and mounting anatomical specimens. A significant portion of the exhibits show-off preserved specimens of the human body (including organs), but it’s not all just human. There are also exhibits of specimens from a variety of other species providing an opportunity to do some comparative anatomy. Also on campus are five additional single themed museums: Forensic Medicine, Pharmacology, Community Medicine, General Surgery and the Orthopaedic Museum.

England’s Vagina Museum and seven other (highly specific) collections to add to your medical travel bucket list

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