Atomic Age of Medicine 3 Poster Set for Pharmacy Windows

Atomic Age of Medicine 3 Poster Set for Pharmacy Windows

Set of three posters for pharmacy windows titled "The Coming Atomic Age of Medicine" printed in 1959. These "ethical displays" were designed and written by Frank Pinchak, a pharmacist from Paterson, New Jersey. Published by his company Professional Advancement Plan, Pinchak sold the posters to pharmacists around the country. He donated the posters to the American Institute of the History of Pharmacy in 2013. The main poster reads: "The Coming Atomic Age of Medicine. The world is on the verge of a new era in medicine brought about by the splitting of the atom. Radioactive rays can affect ordinary chemical processes. This will develop new medicines and methods in radioactive chemistry. Last year radioactive medicines were used to diagnose or treat the illnesses of over a million people. Diseased tissue can be reached by radioactive waves without breaking the skin. Radioactive drugs can be given by mouth or injection." Side poster #1 reads:"Over 40 radioactive medicines are now in use. Iodine: diagnosis and treatment of thyroid disease, brain tumor localization, angina pectoris, recurrent heart failure. Phosphorus: treatment of chronic leukemia with X-ray. Gold: treatment of cancer and tumors. Chromium: used to determine survival rate of red blood cells. Cobalt: Highly radioactive: in some instances has replaced expensive radium at a fraction of the cost." Side poster #2 reads: "Tracer use in medical research. Radioactive drugs. After introduction into the body, can easily be traced, with a geiger counter. In biological research, this tracer technique has compared in importance with the discovery of the microscope."

Poster Copyright undetermined. For more information or for high-quality reproductions, please contact AIHP: aihp@aihp.org.

https://rightsstatements.org/page/UND/1.0/

Image copyright Brian Silverstein, 2008.

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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fpp-29-atomic-4