Note the female medical student present. Women were refused admission to American and British medical schools until the mid-nineteenth century. American women seeking medical training were forced to go abroad to Europe. By mid-century, pressure from social reform movements led to the creation of schools and teaching hospitals specifically to educate women. Boston Medical College for Women, founded in 1848, was followed in 1850 by the Pennsylvania Medical College for Women. In 1870, the University of Michigan chartered the first American co-educational medical school, and others soon followed, but the debate over the merits of “mixed classes” continued.
Citation:
[Medical students and teacher at dissection], [ca. 1890-1920?], Lisa Unger Baskin Collection, Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University. Accessed March 20, 2023, https://exhibits.library.duke.edu/exhibits/show/baskin/item/4233
