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Trip to Italy provides glimpse of medical history

Posted on January 4, 2013 by susankeeter
mask

A Venetian Carnivale mask, of the type once used by physicians.

When you work at an academic medical center like Upstate, health care is always on your mind, even if you’re on vacation. Should you find yourself in Italy, you will inevitably  learn of the country’s medical history and current health care system, in between sips of cappuccino.

Stop by the Vatican Museum in Rome and you’ll find marble sculptures of Asclepius, Greek God of medicine. He holds a snake wrapped around a staff, the same healthcare symbol you’ll  find on the seal of Upstate Medical University.

Walk through the streets of Rome or Florence, and it won’t take long to hear the distinctive “HEE, HAW” siren of an ambulance trying to maneuver through streets packed with tiny cars and motor scooters.  Stop by Rome’s Piazza Navona and you’ll find an ambulance, parked and ready for anyone in need of medical help.

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An ambulance in Venice

Travel to Venice, the city of canals and narrow brick alleyways, and you’ll wonder how EMTs get to patients. Look in the water, and you’ll see that Venice has boats that serve as ambulances. Check out the Carnivale masks found in gift shops and hunt for the long-beaked versions. Those are doctors’ masks originally worn during the plagues of the 17th century.

Rome Physician

A Roman physician, found in Upstate’s Health Science Center Library.

Enjoy unusual and artistic images of medicine? No need to hop on a plane. Just stop by Upstate’s Health Sciences Library. Among its  Historical Collections  you’ll find a series of antique illustrations that show physicians from the Roman Empire through the Napoleanic era.

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About susankeeter

Occasional contributor Upstate’s Susan Keeter has written about and painted Upstate’s Dr. Sarah Loguen, one of the first African American women physicians. Keeter created the horse sculpture in front of the Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital and illustrated a children’s book on autism, “Waiting for Benjamin.” She’s written for Physician Practice, Upstate Alumni Journal, Cancer Care and Upstate Health magazines. Reach her by email at keeters@upstate.edu or by phone at 315-464-4834.
View all posts by susankeeter →
This entry was posted in community, education, entertainment, health care, history and tagged academic medical center, health care blog, health care social media, hospital blog, hospital social media, italian vacation, Italy vacation, medical blog, medical history, SUNY, syracuse health care, syracuse hospital, university hospital, upstate medical, upstate university. Bookmark the permalink.
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