NATIONAL MUSEUM OF HEALTH AND MEDICINE TO OPEN "CONCEPTION TO BIRTH"
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WASHINGTON - The National Museum of Health and Medicine is opening "Conception to Birth," based on a book by Alexander Tsiaras that traces the growth and development of human life. Described by the editor as "an extraordinary marriage of breathtaking visual art and cutting-edge medical science," the opening of the exhibit and book release are both set for Oct. 29.

By using a new medical imaging technology, Tsiaras was able to capture images of the developing baby from never before seen angles. More than 80 of these images, an interactive display, and a 10-minute video that chronicle human development from conception to birth, will be on display at the museum through Aug. 29, 2003. A resource center will allow museum visitors a chance to review the book as well as other books about development.

"As a scientific institution and medical museum, it is our responsibility to anticipate and inform the natural inquisitiveness of visitors as well as to enhance their time here as a unique, inspirational and educational experience," said Dr. Adrianne Noe, museum director. "I am delighted that this innovative exhibition affords visitors the opportunity to better understand the complexities and challenges of development. The exhibit reveals shapes and patterns of growth at the earliest of stages and thus helps inform one of the most fascinating problems of biology."

Tsiaras, an internationally recognized scientist, artist and journalist, is president and CEO of Anatomical Travelogue, Inc. of New York. He has participated in the development of the lens that enabled the first photographs of human fertilization and the recording of the development of the fetus. At the age of 19, he authored his first book, "Death Rituals of Rural Greece." Since then he has written "Body Voyage" and co-authored "Information Architects." He trained and qualified for the 1980 Olympics in track and field until the Moscow games were boycotted and, he has also designed his own line of furniture. As an artist and technologist, he has participated in developing scientific visualization software to enable him to "paint" images. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the World Press Award and several Art Directors Awards.

"This exhibit takes the visitor through a visual journey of the development of life," said Tsiaras. "It also gives them an understanding of the medical imaging technology used to create the exhibit."

Many of the images in the exhibit and book are from the museum's Carnegie Human Embryo Collection, which primarily focuses on normal development in the first eight weeks of pregnancy. The collection was started by Franklin Paine Mall, an embryologist who co-founded the American Journal of Anatomy, which he published from his laboratory for eight years.

"From Conception to Birth: A Life Unfolds" by Alexander Tsiaras; text by Barry Werth is, published by Doubleday and can be ordered by visiting the company's web site at www.doubleday.com.

The National Museum of Health and Medicine, founded as the Army Medical Museum in 1862 to study and improve medical conditions during the American Civil War, is an element of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology. Its specimens and artifacts were the first museum collection in the country and are currently the only in Washington, D.C. to be registered by the U.S. Department of the Interior as a National Historic Landmark. The Secretary of the Interior, who has designated only 2,340 districts, sites, buildings, and structures for listing in the National Register, selected the museum's collection because of its "exceptional value in commemorating and illustrating the history of the United States."

Free docent-led tours are offered at 1 p.m. on the second and fourth Saturday of each month. The museum is open every day except Dec. 25 from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The museum is located at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, 6900 Georgia Ave. and Elder Street, NW, Washington, D.C. The web site is www.natmedmuse.afip.org and the telephone number is 202-782-2200. Admission and parking are free.

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