On February 2, 1920, in the anatomical theater of the University of Latvia founded on September 28, 1919 (at that time the Latvian Higher School), Swedish professor Gaston Buckmann gave the first lecture on anatomy, initiating higher medical education by forming the Institute of Anatomy and Histology. In the same year, at the Institute of Anatomy, an anatomical museum was set up as an educational institution, the basis of which was the collection of the same Buckman.

An important place in it was occupied by preparations made by a corrosion method based on the introduction of rapidly hardening liquid into the vessels of various organs .These preparations were the molds of the finest branches of the vessels of the brain, lungs, heart, liver, spleen, kidneys, and also the bronchial tree .At the University of Latvia, Buckman lingered for a bit - he taught here until 1925 until his departure to Sweden .Then the successor of his case was Ekabs Primanis, who in 1929 was elected head of the department of anatomy, and in 1932 received the title of professor .

In 1938, at the University, another museum was created, a pharmacy museum (pharmacies), a collection of which was made up of private collections of the Latvian pharmacist Davis Blumenthal and Professor Janis Maizite.

After the Second World War, only two professors specializing in medicine remained in Latvia, including Paul Stradin, who in a very short time almost revived the process of medical education. His efforts already in 1950 on the basis of medical faculty of the Latvian University the Riga medical institute has been based.

In 1957, the combined collection of the Museum of Pharmacy and the private collection of Paula Stradynia, which he collected for 30 years, formed a single museum of the history of medicine. In 1986, having separated from the Museum of the History of Medicine, the Pharmacy Museum became its branch. And in 1987, the museum of anatomy joined the museum of the history of medicine as an affiliate.

Laboratory

Collection of medicines

Libra

Vessels with exhibits

To date, the exposition of the museum of pharmacy, which has passed the mark of 50 thousand units, is represented by several thematic sections reflecting the evolution of chemist's ware, devices for manufacturing medicines and technologies for their production. The museum is equipped with a laboratory and pharmacy of the 18-20th centuries. A collection of medicaments of the 20-21 centuries, produced at Latvian pharmaceutical companies, is collected, among which there is Riga Balsam, which has been used for a long time as a medicine.

The Museum of the History of Medicine, in 1958 named Paula Stradynia, is one of the world's three largest museums of its kind .His collection is represented by 4 sections: the origin of medicine, the development of medicine in the Middle Ages, New and modern times .Visitors are greeted by the first floor exposition dedicated to the fundamental principles of medicine .On the second floor of the museum, a whole medieval city with its pharmacy and hospital is recreated, where in the oppressive atmosphere of universal grief and fear, wherever you look, the soul of death is hovering, and twilight lighting and sound effects complete the already horrendous spectacle .A more rosy picture awaits visitors in the hall of the third floor with an exposition of the history of modern medicine - then the X-rays were discovered, the causative agents of tuberculosis and smallpox vaccine were found, the first experiments on transplantation .The exposition of the fourth floor is represented by scientific achievements in the field of medicine in Latvia .Here, Paula Stradynia's cabinet was reconstructed, in memory of which in 1998 the University of Riga began to bear his name, and all three museums, in one way or another connected with the professor, are very popular among tourists .

X-ray room

Pressure chamber

Dental office

The Cabinet of Paula Stradynia

© Galina Iskakova, www.iskakova.com