Quackery: A Common Theme

Quackery! What does it mean? It sounds like something a duck might say. The standard definition of quackery—practices intended to deceive or defraud with unreliable treatments—often applies to remedies once considered beneficial. Because of advances in medical science, theories of the past may today be considered quackery. 

The Museum of Medical History’s mission is to inform and educate the public about how medicine was practiced in the past, both scientific-based medical theory and debunked theories, or quackery. Its mission is not only to educate but to share an appreciation for how far we have come in effectively treating health conditions and disease. Quackery is almost as pervasive as legitimate, science-based medical theory. Billions of dollars and countless hours have gone into promoting unproven treatments and cures.   

As you travel through the Museum, we invite you to view all the artifacts with curiosity and an inquisitive mind to see how people practiced in the past and how this differs from what we do today. It is very important to keep in mind that today we attempt to evaluate medical treatments using scientific evidence. This generally requires use of the scientific method to show that treatments have benefits for patients and that the side effects are acceptable.  

One of the hallmarks of quackery is that medicine or the theory of how a treatment works often relies on anecdotal evidence or the endorsement of celebrities or celebrity physicians to convince the public that a particular device or treatment is effective. They may use the tagline stating “studies” have shown this to be effective. However the validity and methods of those “studies” can mislead the public into purchasing and consuming useless or harmful remedies. Therefore, it's important before we put something in our bodies or let someone do a procedure on us, that we have objective evaluation and scientific evidence to show the treatment is safe and effective.