Jugum penis, United Kingdom, 1880-1920



Guaranteed to bring tears to the eyes of at least half our readers, this device was intended as a treatment for "nocturnal incontinence" and to prevent masturbation. It was designed to deter nighttime emissions by causing enough pain to waken the sleeper if an erection threatened.



Until relatively recently, masturbation was considered a moral weakness and at least partly responsible for a whole range of debilitating medical conditions. Now there is some suggestion that the opposite may be true: frequent self-pleasuring could protect against prostate cancer.



Click through to the last slide to see an equally unpleasant device...

Ceramic doll to illustrate prospective treatments, England, 1930-1950



This doll comes from the Lord Mayor Treloar Orthopaedic Hospital, Alton, Hampshire, England, where it was used to show child patients and their family the treatment they were about to be given.



Opened in 1908, the hospital specialised in treating children with orthopaedic conditions caused by TB and polio. Here, the doll has a splint on its arm. Splints help keep injured or diseased bones in position so they heal correctly.

Part of a human stomach dissected by Edward Jenner, England, 1790-1823



Edward Jenner (1749-1823) is best remembered as the pioneer of vaccination, but he was also known for his delicate dissections.



This section of a stomach has been flattened and injected with wax to show the veins and arteries, as well as the delicate membrane of the stomach wall.



Dissection was an increasingly common part of medical education at this time but with too few bodies to go round preparations such as this were important to show students the workings of the human body. Advertisement

Set of 13 spirit bubbles, Edinburgh, Scotland, 1801-1900



No, not a plate of eyeballs but spirit bubbles. Although sometimes used in scientific research, historically they were used mainly to test the alcohol content of spirits such as gin, whisky, rum or brandy.



Numbers 22 and 23, for instance, would be used to test the proof of a double whisky; if it was the correct proof, the glass ball would sink to the bottom.



The set was made by A Lovi, in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Cigarette dispenser, United Kingdom, 1925-1935



Put a coin in the slot in the top of the box and help yourself to a cigarette.



Made to be placed on a counter top, bar or table, the cigarette dispenser could be operated by anyone. Potentially, that included children, despite the fact that selling tobacco to under-16s was made illegal in the UK in 1908.



Vending machines like this made the law difficult to enforce. In the UK, the age limit was raised to 18 in 2007.

Wax vanitas, Europe, 1701-1800



"Vanity of vanities, all is vanity". This verse from the biblical book of Ecclesiastes is scratched onto the front of this vanitas, a work of art intended to remind the viewer of the shortness of human life, the uselessness of vanity and the certainty of death.



This example features many symbols typical for this type of object, such as a skull and insects that feast on decaying flesh. The other side shows the face during life.

Model of a 'flying ambulance', Europe, 1801-1850



In the 1790s, Dominique Jean Larrey, Napoleon's surgeon-in-chief, invented the "flying ambulance" to transport wounded soldiers from the battlefield to a field hospital. Emergency surgery was often perfomed inside the carriage en route.



Drawn by two or more horses, this two-wheeled carriage has space for two stretchered patients inside. Larrey also organised an ambulance corps of surgeons and orderlies, and equipped them with first aid supplies.



Before Larrey's invention, men treated their own wounds, or had to wait for the battle to finish.

Barber-surgeon's case, France, 1715-1830



A barber-surgeon's job went way beyond shaving and cutting hair. They also performed simple surgery, such as bloodletting, and treated minor wounds and injuries.



Some of the tools of the barber's trade served a dual purpose. This silk-lined oak case contains 20 shaving accessories, including an assortment of glass and pewter bottles to carry and heat water, and porcelain cups and brushes to apply shaving soap and cream to the face.



It also contains two cutthroat razors. The razors would have been ideal for opening veins while the shaving bowl, with detachable chin plate, could have been used to catch the blood.

Wooden acupuncture model, Asia, 1601-1700



In traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture aims to improve the flow of qi (chi) or energy in the body by applying needles to specific points on the skin.



Tradition teaches that qi must flow freely through the body's meridians, or channels, to ensure health and well-being. The male figure made of wood shows where needles should be applied to the skin and the meridians through which qi flows.



It is unclear exactly how acupuncture works, though there is some evidence that it affects brain activity.

Three wax legs showing treatment of ulcers caused by syphilis, Germany, 1910-1920



These wax legs show how the arsenic-based drug Salvarsan 606 could be used successfully to treat syphilis, replacing the old mercury treatments that slowly poisoned the body.



The wax legs formed part of Swiss artist Leonce Schiffmann's touring collection of anatomical waxes called "The Wonder of Life".



Schiffmann left his collection to Lily Binda, the owner of a travelling "freak show". When such shows were banned in Europe in the 1960s, Binda showed the collection at fairgrounds under the name "Mysteries of Human Life".



Binda emphasised the serious aspect of her show by saying, "It saw men enter blind drunk, and leave stone-cold sober".

Dentist's window display, France, 1875-1885



Rather more enticing than today's adverts for questionable forms of cosmetic dentistry, this display of ivory dentures and extracted teeth graced the window of J Petit, a dentist who worked in Paris during the late 1800s.



Passers-by would have no doubt about the nature of Petit's business - even if they couldn't read. Their own teeth are unlikely to have been quite so pretty.