Palace of the School of Medicine

Permanent exhibits: 19 permanent exhibition rooms. First floor: Sala de México Antiguo de 90 m2: presents medicine uses and common ailments across pre-Hispanic cultures (Olmeca, Teotihuacana, Maya, Mexica). Examines the relationship between religion and dualities such as health and illness, life and death. Sala de Medicina Virreinal de 52 m2: features historical books, early medical publications on the continent and texts studied by medical students; also presents the history of the first schools and educators and some colonial paintings related to medicine. Sala de Herbolaria de 52 m2: Mexico’s geographic location and climate support vast biodiversity; tradition of studying and using plants in medicine, from pre-Hispanic times to today, as attested by the Badiano Codex (1552). Sala del Desarrollo Humano de 78 m2: Embryology room illustrating the mystery of life; embryos and fetuses at different growth stages. Jardín Botánico de 18 m2: dedicated to the Purépecha healer Rosita Asencio; contains plants most used in alternative medicine. Sala Dr. Carlos Coqui de 35 m2: recreation of Dr. Carlos Coqui’s radiology cabinet with furniture, radiology equipment and personal items donated in 1895. Sala Dr. Donato Alarcón de 35 m2: contains the furniture of Dr. Donato Alarcón’s office, considered the father of Mexican clinical immunology. Botica Dr. Manuel Esesarte de 32 m2: recreates the pharmacy founded by Dr. Manuel Esesarte in Oaxaca in 1885; a comprehensive space with tools and utensils used in pharmaceutical practice. Pinacoteca Virreinal de 75 m2: gallery of portraits and religious paintings from the viceregal period; part of the national university and museum collections. The portraits in the collection are the so-called aparato portraits, created to highlight the rank and membership of the person within ecclesiastical or civil congregations. Second floor rooms: Sala de Histología Dr. Tomás Perrín de 42 m2: The progress of histology as a science that studies tissues using the microscope; the palace houses a collection of microscopes from simple and ancient to electronic today. Laboratorio Clínico Germán y Juan Somolinos de 28 m2: This laboratory, named after physicians Germán and Juan Somolinos, presents instruments found in clinical laboratories where human biological samples are analyzed for study, prevention and viable research. Sala de Ceras del siglo XIX de 70 m2: 19th-century wax models imported from France in 1873 for studying dermatological lesions at the Academy of Medicine. Sala de Cirugía reconstructiva Dr. Fernando Ortiz Monasterio de 42 m2: History of plastic surgery as a medical specialty from its beginnings in Italy in the 16th century to today; emphasizes its development in Mexico from 1950 and highlights Mexican doctors as pioneers of complex intrauterine surgeries and cleft lip. Sala de Anatomía del siglo XIX de 72 m2 y Sala de Anatomía del siglo XX de 11 m2: Describes the complex relationship between doctors, surgeons and the body in the 18th and 19th centuries; anatomy as a medical practice connected to hands and senses. Sala de la Academia Nacional de Medicina de 40 m2: Representation of the 19th-century Academy of Medicine where professional exams were conducted and the Hippocratic Oath was taken. Sala de Oftalmología de 52 m2: Presents information, instrumentation and equipment for this medical discipline, emphasizing its origins and evolution in Mexico. Sala de Fisiología de 65 m2: Displays instruments used in physiology laboratories in Mexico for studying organs and their function. Sala de Otorrinolaringología de 38 m2: Shows instruments and equipment used in clinical examination and surgical procedures by pioneers of the specialty; established in 1998 with the collaboration of the Mexican Society of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery and UNAM’s Museo de la Medicina Mexicana; updated in 2014 to reflect advances in otolaryngology thanks to scientific and technological progress. Temporary exhibits: Four temporary exhibition spaces: first floor Lobby de la Botica Dr. Manuel Esesarte de 60 m2: adjacent space used for temporary exhibitions. Patio de Piedra de 32 m2: secondary courtyard named for its stone walls that display the building’s construction system. Second floor Temporary Expositions Hall of 36 m2: first-floor room in the main patio. Upper-floor corridors of the main patio of 36 m2: three sections for temporary exhibitions (Corridor outside Sala de Ceras del siglo XIX; Corridor outside Sala de Oftalmología; Corridor outside Sala de Anatomía).

Cuenta con 4 salas de exhibición temporales: Salas en primer piso: Lobby de la Botica Dr. Manuel Esesarte de 60 m2: Espacio adyacente para exposiciones temporales. Patio de Piedra de 32 m2: Patio secundario del Palacio de la Escuela de Medicina, con muros de piedra que muestran el sistema constructivo. Salas en segundo piso: Sala de Exposiciones Temporales de 36 m2: Sala de la planta baja del patio principal. Pasillos de planta alta del patio principal de 36 m2: Tres secciones para exposiciones temporales: Pasillo fuera de la Sala de Ceras del siglo XIX; Pasillo fuera de la Sala de Oftalmología; Pasillo fuera de la Sala de Anatomía.