LI
'..0../U.
~
6 Some women in medicine*
0
Lauder Brunton
Dr. Jacalyn Duffin, Hannah Chair in the History of Medicine at Queen's University, Kingston, Ont., has written an intriguing account of an incident in the life of feminist physician Emily Stowe, Toronto's first woman doctor (see page 881). For those interested in the history of women in medicine, we reprint here a 1942 presentation to the Osler Society of McGill University, Montreal. In this speech Lauder Brunton covered more than 900 years of history, from Hildegarde of Bingen (1098-1179) to Canada's Maude Abbott. Curiously, there is no mention of Emily Stowe, her daughter Augusta or, for that matter, most of the women physicians Duffin mentions in her article. This indicates that perhaps there were many more "heroines" in medicine than most of us U
realize.
(And, judging from Lauder's des-
cription of their tribulations, most of them indeed, heroines.) heroines.) were, indeed, U
cre,
Fi
n
The question at issue is really one of principle ..........If any woman feels that the U medical profession profession is is her her medical vocation... should she should ..,. she ~vocation have a fair start in the race. -
Sir William Osler
he early story of women in medicine is in mystery. The only informaad tion tshrouded available is hidden in manuscripts, and the controversies raging over the authenticity of some of the early characters will probably never be settled. The modern
________________________________________ Li O
*Read before the third annual memorial meeting of the Osler Society of McGill University, March 27, 1942.
This paper was published in the "Men and Books" section of the January 1943 (vol. 48, no. 1) issue of CMAJ, pages 60 to 65. MARCk
15, H 1992
MARCH 15, 1992
period, concerning which there is accurate information, has only recently begun. Medical education for women started in the United States, with a separate college for them, in 1850. The University of Paris opened its medical degree to women in 1868. Switzerland, a leader among the enlightened, opened all four of its medical schools to women in 1876, with no distinction. When the Johns Hopkins School was opened in Baltimore, one of the conditions was that it should admit women. I would like to quote here from an article written by Osler for the Century magazine, February, 1891.
U
"The question at issue is really one of principle, and eighteen months ago, when the Johns Hopkins Hospital was opened, it was then settled that in the opinion of the medical staff of
the hospital, so far as ward work and clinics were concerned, there should be complete freedom. And this is right: if any woman feels that the
medical herway vocation, no obstacles should beprofession of her obtaining the placed inisthe best possible education and every facility should
be offered so that as a practitioner, she should ~~have a fair start in the race 0...
The first class started out with sixteen students, three of them women. When Osler was asked the next year how the arrange-
ment was working out, he said "A dismal failure; 331/3% of the women married the professor of anatomy". What really both-
ered him was, that at the end of the fourth year another 331/3% turned Christian Scientist just before the final examination! The earliest of all medical women were, of course, midwives. From time immemorial childbirth has been considered a natural process, and as the function lies o entirely with women, so very naturally ershould its conduct. However, the success of
II U
the midwife depended entirely on the naturalness of the process, and we find her
calling upon the priest, witch doctor, or medical man, depending on the stage of
society, in time of difficulty. CAN MED ASSOC J 1992; 146 (6)
CAN MED ASSOC J
1992; 146 (6)
95
955
Obstetrical practice during the Renaissance was at an extremely low ebb. As a rule, only midwives attended women in labour, but this was not always the case, as is illustrated by a law passed in Germany in 1580, prohibiting shepherds and herdsmen from attending obstetric cases. Apparently, they were thought to have gained sufficient experience with their flocks. However, this was a rather brutal period, and it is only one hundred years later that we come to some of the most famous midwives of history. >
0
Louise Bourgeois was the daughter of a middle class family and received a better education than most. Her family lived near Ambroise Pare and she was bom at about the time that Pare's works were beginning to appear in print. Now there lived with Pare a certain barber surgeon called Martin Boursier, who came to know, and finally married Louise Bourgeois. After the birth of their first child, Louise became interested in obstetrics and decided to take up the profession of midwife. She received her training from her husband and Pare. The latter was the greatest living teacher, and ~~~~~~~~~~~probably published considerable material on the subject. She herself, in later life, wrote numerous works on obstetrics which were translated
It had become the fashion into other languages. Most of the material in these works came directly from Pare, but, for the courtiers to have she failed to give credit midwives for or their theirunfortunately, where it was due. men midwives
x
F
rmistresses.
O
O
O
X
'..0../U.
~
6 Some women in medicine*
0
Lauder Brunton
Dr. Jacalyn Duffin, Hannah Chair in the History of Medicine at Queen's University, Kingston, Ont., has written an intriguing account of an incident in the life of feminist physician Emily Stowe, Toronto's first woman doctor (see page 881). For those interested in the history of women in medicine, we reprint here a 1942 presentation to the Osler Society of McGill University, Montreal. In this speech Lauder Brunton covered more than 900 years of history, from Hildegarde of Bingen (1098-1179) to Canada's Maude Abbott. Curiously, there is no mention of Emily Stowe, her daughter Augusta or, for that matter, most of the women physicians Duffin mentions in her article. This indicates that perhaps there were many more "heroines" in medicine than most of us U
realize.
(And, judging from Lauder's des-
cription of their tribulations, most of them indeed, heroines.) heroines.) were, indeed, U
cre,
Fi
n
The question at issue is really one of principle ..........If any woman feels that the U medical profession profession is is her her medical vocation... should she should ..,. she ~vocation have a fair start in the race. -
Sir William Osler
he early story of women in medicine is in mystery. The only informaad tion tshrouded available is hidden in manuscripts, and the controversies raging over the authenticity of some of the early characters will probably never be settled. The modern
________________________________________ Li O
*Read before the third annual memorial meeting of the Osler Society of McGill University, March 27, 1942.
This paper was published in the "Men and Books" section of the January 1943 (vol. 48, no. 1) issue of CMAJ, pages 60 to 65. MARCk
15, H 1992
MARCH 15, 1992
period, concerning which there is accurate information, has only recently begun. Medical education for women started in the United States, with a separate college for them, in 1850. The University of Paris opened its medical degree to women in 1868. Switzerland, a leader among the enlightened, opened all four of its medical schools to women in 1876, with no distinction. When the Johns Hopkins School was opened in Baltimore, one of the conditions was that it should admit women. I would like to quote here from an article written by Osler for the Century magazine, February, 1891.
U
"The question at issue is really one of principle, and eighteen months ago, when the Johns Hopkins Hospital was opened, it was then settled that in the opinion of the medical staff of
the hospital, so far as ward work and clinics were concerned, there should be complete freedom. And this is right: if any woman feels that the
medical herway vocation, no obstacles should beprofession of her obtaining the placed inisthe best possible education and every facility should
be offered so that as a practitioner, she should ~~have a fair start in the race 0...
The first class started out with sixteen students, three of them women. When Osler was asked the next year how the arrange-
ment was working out, he said "A dismal failure; 331/3% of the women married the professor of anatomy". What really both-
ered him was, that at the end of the fourth year another 331/3% turned Christian Scientist just before the final examination! The earliest of all medical women were, of course, midwives. From time immemorial childbirth has been considered a natural process, and as the function lies o entirely with women, so very naturally ershould its conduct. However, the success of
II U
the midwife depended entirely on the naturalness of the process, and we find her
calling upon the priest, witch doctor, or medical man, depending on the stage of
society, in time of difficulty. CAN MED ASSOC J 1992; 146 (6)
CAN MED ASSOC J
1992; 146 (6)
95
955
Obstetrical practice during the Renaissance was at an extremely low ebb. As a rule, only midwives attended women in labour, but this was not always the case, as is illustrated by a law passed in Germany in 1580, prohibiting shepherds and herdsmen from attending obstetric cases. Apparently, they were thought to have gained sufficient experience with their flocks. However, this was a rather brutal period, and it is only one hundred years later that we come to some of the most famous midwives of history. >
0
Louise Bourgeois was the daughter of a middle class family and received a better education than most. Her family lived near Ambroise Pare and she was bom at about the time that Pare's works were beginning to appear in print. Now there lived with Pare a certain barber surgeon called Martin Boursier, who came to know, and finally married Louise Bourgeois. After the birth of their first child, Louise became interested in obstetrics and decided to take up the profession of midwife. She received her training from her husband and Pare. The latter was the greatest living teacher, and ~~~~~~~~~~~probably published considerable material on the subject. She herself, in later life, wrote numerous works on obstetrics which were translated
It had become the fashion into other languages. Most of the material in these works came directly from Pare, but, for the courtiers to have she failed to give credit midwives for or their theirunfortunately, where it was due. men midwives
x
F
rmistresses.
O
O
O
X
