Osteopathy Collection
name: label: Collector
content: Still, George A., Dr.
label: Author
content: Bean, Arthur Sanders
label: Names
content: Still, Andrew Taylor, Dr., 1828-1917
topic: label: Topic
content: Medical education
label: Topic
content: Osteopathic medicine
label: Topic
content: Medicine
label: Topic
content: Osteopathic physicians
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Immediate source of acquisition unknown.
creator: label: Collector
content: Still, George A., Dr.
label: Author
content: Bean, Arthur Sanders
setName: label: See more items in
content: Osteopathy Collection
abstract: label: Summary
content: Collection consists of photographs, brief biographies and some correspondence of 105 prominent osteopaths.
bioghist: label: Historical
content: Osteopathy is an independent school of medicine based on the theory that there is unity between body structure and function.  Osteopaths (numbering about 12,000) are licensed to practice in all states and D.C., generally on the same basis as medical doctors.   They are represented in the U.S. Public Health Service and other government medical services.

Osteopathic colleges (5 in number) require a 4 year course totaling 5,000 course hours of study with two years of basic science and two years of clinical training and advanced science.  At least 3 years of college level pre-professional studies are required and a year long internship at one of 85 osteopathic hospitals follows formal studies.  Osteopathic specialists are certified in 12 fields after further study.

Osteopathy emphasizes manipulation of the body in order to maintain the proper adjustment of the musculoskeletal system.  However, osteopaths also employ drug therapy, surgery and radiation therapy.

Osteopathy originated as a medical reform movement initiated by Dr. Andrew Taylor Still in the Missouri Kansas frontier region in the late 1900s. Most osteopaths now are practicing in the U.S. and Canada. They are represented by state and provincial societies which combine to form the
American Osteopathic Association.
label: Biographical
content: The "founder of osteopathy," Andrew Taylor Still, was born in Virginia in 1828, the son of Abraham Still, a Methodist minister who was also a doctor of medicine and whose four brothers were doctors.  The family moved successively to Tennessee, Missouri, and Kansas with the elder Still serving as a missionary and medical practitioner to Indian tribes.  Andrew assisted his father in this work, gradually becoming dissatisfied with orthodox methods of medical practice of that time.  He served in the Union Army during the Civil War.  Against strong opposition of the medical profession and others he evolved the principles of osteopathy in 1892 founding together with a Scottish physician, Dr. William Smith, the American School of Osteopathy, the first such institution in the U.S., located in Kirksville, Missouri.

Dr. Still based his system of therapy on two premises: first, that the human body was self healing (i.e., it contains within itself all the medicinal chemicals necessary to the cure of disease); and, second, lesions of the spinal column are the principal causes of disease. Dr. Still continued his work until his death in Kirksville in 1917.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 2.3 Cubic feet (6 boxes)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1887-1941
custodhist: label: Custodial History
content: This collection was formed when Dr. George A. Still, trustee and second president (1918-1922) of the American School of Osteopathy, and great-nephew of its founder, Dr. Andrew Taylor Still, circulated a request for historical material on osteopathy in 1918. The collection was transferred from Division of Medical Sciences to Archives Center, April 29, 1983.
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.0021
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Clippings
label: Type
content: Books
label: Type
content: Correspondence
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged into four series.
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Collection processed by Don Dorrach and Robert Harding, 1985
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Clippings
label: Genre/Form
content: Books
label: Genre/Form
content: Correspondence -- 1930-1950
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: Collection includes photographs, brief biographies and some correspondence of 105 prominent osteopaths, all submitted in 1918 apparently as the result of a circular written request by Dr. George A. Still, a trustee of the American School of Osteopathy, Kirksville, Missouri, and a great-nephew of the founder of that institution, Dr. A.T. Still.

Other material (dating from 1887 to 1941) includes journals, college announcements and catalogs published by schools of osteopathy and other publishers.  These contain professional articles and list college curriculums in osteopathy.  Textbooks on osteopathy, miscellaneous photographs and newspaper clippings are also included.