The Science Museum, London has launched a new history of medicine website, “Brought to Life.” Meant to be the premier history of medicine resource for educators and students, the site features

images of 4,000 medical objects selected from the Science Museum’s collections. From amulets to alligators, leech jars to lodestones you can find all of these from here. The Museum’s objects, many of which are from the Wellcome Trust, cover more than 3,000 years of medical history.

Information on the site has been organized into categories including “Themes and Topics,” “Objects,” and “Technologies and Techniques.” Among the images of objects featured on the site are those of a number of objects important to the history of psychology. Under the theme “Mental Health and Illness” alone are images of nearly 200 objects, including the human phrenological skull pictured at right.

Additionally, many of the discussions featured under the site’s 15 Themes and Topics touch on issues important to the history of psychology. These include sections on “The Science of Human Difference” and “War’s Long Term Effect,” the latter of which discusses both the psychological impact of war, as well as the involvement of psychologists in the mental testing of soldiers. Under Technologies and Techniques are profiles of a number of psychologically relevant historical concepts and contraptions including, among others: electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), neurasthenia, phrenology, and railway spine.

You can explore the “Brought to Life” website here.