On the corner of the Plaza de Santo Domingo is the sprawling Museo de la Medicina Exhibits are chronologically arranged in several rooms around the courtyard. The Museum covers the history of Mexican medicine, from the days of the Aztecs to the present. Aztec herbs and displays of indigenous concepts of the universe are shown alongside Tzompantli (walls of skulls) excavated from Tlatelolco and foetuses in formaldehyde. Recreations of 19th century surgeries, exhibitions of radiology machines over the last century and a temporary display of dissected corpses (courtesy of UNAM) will delight anyone with an interest in the history of medicine, although all the signs are in Spanish only. Upstairs, directly above the pickled babies, is a room dedicated to skin diseases. Thankfully the body parts on show are made of wax, but make sure lunch is long behind you before going in to see the gangrenous limbs and venereal-diseased genitalia. The museum is housed in the former headquarters of the Spanish Inquisition, although nowadays it’s hard to believe that this lovely, peaceful 17th century mansion was once witness to heretics being tortured and burned at the stake.

Location:
Républica de Brasil, Centro Histórico, México D.F
Mexico City, Mexico

Museum Types:
Historical museum, Science and nature, Anthropology, ethnography

Travel Tips: Bring I.D

Price Description: Free

Relative price: Budget

Open Hours from:9 a.m.

Open Hours to:6 p.m.

Days Closed:None

Travel Skills: None

Contact Information:
Zip: 06010
Phone: 55 529 7542

By Lisa Rodan

Created: 10 Mar 2009

Updated: 10 Mar 2009