The collection shows Dr. Casey Wood's interest for ophthalmology, especially in the history of ophthalmology but also for medicine in the countries he visited, among them Ceylon. The collection contains rough copies of published articles or planned papers on these subjects. Ayurvedic medicine is a major interest. The collection also contains three versions of the "Descriptive catalogue of the Casey A. Wood Collection of Sinhalese Materia Medica for the Museum of McGill University".

The fonds contains Norman Bethune's letter correspondences, including numerous letters between him and his former wife Frances Penney. The majority of the fonds consists of material about Bethune: newspaper and magazine clippings, photographs, slides and negatives, an original play about his life, a documentary script, various memorabilia (e.g. commemorative stamps, brochures, pamphlets, buttons and pins, posters, fliers), and writings about Bethune's work in Canada, Spain, and China.

The collection consists of seven volumes of Elliott's personal diaries, which were bound together, at his own expense, after their completion. These diaries cover the five-year period that Elliott spent serving overseas, primarily in England. The contents of the journals include handwritten entries, sketches and watercolours that were either executed in the pages of the diary or pasted in, and photographs, newspaper clippings, letters, playbills, menus and other paraphernalia that were also pasted into the diary. These serve to document both the development of the war and Elliott's personal experiences. The diaries are generally in chronological order although there are places, particularly in the last three volumes, where the diaries have been bound out of sequence.

The fonds also contains several folio sheets of photographs and clippings regarding Elliott's career.

Collection consists of correspondence, mail-order course prospectus entitled, “How to Become a Mechano-Therapist,” and 30 instructional pamphlets comprising the correspondence course. Also includes reprint from the Journal of the American Medical Association debunking the College. Final file contains provenance records and information about the College and its founder compiled by donor. Framed diploma from the College is also included (Osler ART 101).

Collection contains a manuscript letter from Henry Lyman to his wife, Mary, in Granby; dated July 25, 1849, when the druggist shop Wm. Lyman & Co. was located at 194 and 196 St. Paul St. in Montreal, the letter deals principally with the cholera epidemic in the city.

A large portion of the collection is concerned with the growth of the Medical Library at McGill. Other than the Catalogue of Books from the Library of the Medical Faculty of McGill College which dates from 1845, the earliest preserved records are the handwritten Library Committee reports of Dr. Francis Shepherd, dating from 1880. The textual material includes early library reports, surveys, information about library staff, finance, gifts, procedures, as well as information regarding the Osler Library and departmental building plans and renovations. The collection also includes correspondence, notes, photographs, and artifacts associated with 'McGill Medical Men' including: James "King" Cook, Robert Palmer Howard, William Wright, Robert Lea MacDonnell, Richard Lea MacDonnell, Herbert Stanley Birkett, and others. There are many reprints in the collection – some bound into volumes, and many that include signatures and written notes. The collection also includes photographs, scrapbooks, and glass lantern slides (some of which are from World War One), books, and theses. The Medical Library's accession records, index cards, and journal cards are also preserved in the collection, still housed in their original catalogue drawers (see Series 7). The collection includes various announcements, university calendars and directories related to the Faculty of Medicine, as well as communication, meeting minutes, and essays belonging to the McGill Medical Society (1884-1907), the McGill Reporting Society (1926-1951), and the Montreal Dermatological Society (1930-1951). Lastly, the collection includes miscellaneous textual materials related to McGill and the Faculty of Medicine, for instance McGill student attendance cards from 1828-1872 (with course name and professor details).

The collection consists of 3 scrapbooks assembled by Richard L. MacDonnell, and 1 McGill Dissection Room Record Book created and kept by MacDonnell from April 1883-1891. The scrapbooks contain notes, patient prescription information, reprints of various publications by MacDonnell, and lots of news clippings concerning various topics such as the history of Montreal, McGill University, the McGill faculty, Montreal General Hospital, and obituary notices. A second volume of dissection records (1896-1908) was compiled after MacDonnell's death, and can be found in the library catalogue.

Collection contains memorabilia relating to Dr. Robert Howard's student life at McGill University and of his career, from 1871 to 1888. Among the items are diplomas, photographs, newspaper clippings, a booklet from McGill University, a frame and a programme.

The Sir William Osler Collection, distinct from the Bibliotheca, is an extensive archival holding of Osler's correspondence (including eighteen hundred original letters), daybooks, accounts, engagement books, legal documents, book invoices, membership certificates, notebooks, lectures, addresses, newspaper clippings, photographs, books with manuscript additions, and miscellaneous loose items formerly inserted into individual books in his library. The collection also contains various family papers, including correspondence of Lady Grace Revere Osler and Edward Revere Osler.

The collection consists of written correspondence between Dr. Clarence B. Farrar and Dr. Franklin G. Ebaugh concerning reproductive rights for victims of rape in relation to the case of a Denver woman who was the victim of rape in 1955. The woman ended up giving birth to a child after she was denied an abortion by doctors and lawyers. The collection also includes a three-page editorial titled "Legal Abortions" that cites Chapter 40, Article 2, Section 23 of the Colorado Revised Statutes 1953.