A Unique Museum in Seville Showcases the History of Medicine
Herrera (Seville), (EFE). – The dentist’s chair where Alfonso XIII received treatment is just one of the captivating artifacts housed in a small museum in herrera, a town nestled in the Sierra Sur of Seville. Located in the exact center of the region,this museum boasts a collection of approximately 2,500 items spanning from the 2nd century BC to the 20th century.
The collection, amassed by local nurse Francisco Jurado Muñoz, includes medical and surgical instruments, antique hygiene products, and vintage medicine and ointment boxes. Originally opened in 2003 within a renovated 1949 water tank – now part of the Herrera nursing home garden – the museum quickly outgrew its space. The City Council subsequently provided a larger building nearby,now featuring four distinct areas: a dentist’s office,a pharmacy,a delivery room,and a doctor’s office.
Adding to the museum’s unique character are three military uniforms: one belonging to a Pharmacy lieutenant, another to a Health commander, and a white uniform worn by a military ATS second lieutenant during missions around the globe.
A Walk Through Medicine in History
According to alejandro Suárez, the City Council’s Councilor for Culture, Francisco Jurado contributed around 95% of the museum’s holdings. He explains to EFE that the collection “projects the knowledge and the entire history of medicine for practically all of history,” from Herrera’s viewpoint. The museum also displays materials unearthed during archaeological excavations in the surrounding fields.
Suárez notes that visitors are often struck by “details of what was done decades ago,” especially the size of past injections and their sterilization methods.
“The wide range of medicine, skin or hair treatments, or the different dildos from the late 19th and early 20th centuries is very striking,” he adds.
One of the museum’s most notable pieces is the ‘veedee,’ considered the first vibrator, invented by British physician Joseph Mortimer Granville in 1878. Initially used solely by doctors, it was intended to treat “female hysteria,” a then-common diagnosis for ailments like fainting, insomnia, and fluid retention.