The National Museum of Health and Medicine of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (NMHM/AFIP) was originally founded as the Army Medical Museum in 1862. The initial purpose of the institution was to document the effects of battle wounds and disease, and to study and improve medical practice. The American Civil War was underway at the time, so there was no shortage of study material. Today, NMHM maintains a collection of more than twenty-four million items. The collection includes archives, medical equipment, and human remains both normal and pathological for display and research.