Repository: UIHistories Project: Sophograph - 1891 [PAGE 20]

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Illl

Ol'l IOC.HAPH.

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WOMAN AND MEDICINE.

^ YiflRTf interesting thine is the position

e\\ w o m a n h a s t a k e n in t h e m e d i c a l p r o >*""\ fession. I n all of t h e large cities, and * in m a n y of t h e small o n e s , t h e female

universities of [taly. < 'omingdovt n to m (•in times, we find that Napol > appoir d n Marin I > 1 M I tonne, a i u I tiale of Bol< « 1 to the chair of mid-wifery in the ii itui » n t here. I n the first ha If of the pn -nt a Qtury, Fran von Biebold and her di both acquired renown, having taken medical degrees a1 Giessen. In France M < veuves Lachapelle and Boivin I ime p >minent Qot only as mid-wives,but also pn ticing physicians.

Bu1 it was not until 186 \. < I in tie-

physician has her place beside her brother

in t h e p r o f e s s i o n ; a n d , i n d e e d , s h e is d o i n g a g r a n d work. I t is t h e p u r p o s e of t h i s brief article to jive a little of t h e h i s t o r y of t h e m o v e m e n t which led to t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t of so m a n v female m e d i c a l colleges, a n d to t h e s u c c e s s ful p r a c t i c e of m e d i c i n e by so m a n y w o m e n d u r i n g t h e last h a l f - c e n t u r y ; t h e n , a s h o r t

case of one or two pei >ns, thai any medical school in Europe was opened to femal In that year the University of Zurich was thrown open to men and women uj • tl

* *

same

terms, and

one

w o m a n , a Ru

n,

cussion of the merits of the question. It will, perhaps, not be impertinent to

mention t h e fact t h a t w o m a n ' s connection

availed herself of t he advantages thus i >l d, f graduating as M. I), in due course. The numberof female students rapidly in. I until 1873, when,b< ause of certain improper conduct upon the part of the medical students, the Russian government issued a mandate stating that all Russian women attending the Qniversitv of Zurich after tie first of January of the following year, v uld "not be admitted, on their return to Russia

to a n y e x a m i n a t i o n , e d u c a t i o n a l e s t a b l i s h m e n t , or a p p o i n t m e n t of a n y kind u n d e r tin

with m licineisnot altogether modern. We ar mred by Homer that there were not e few women, as well as female divinities, who

were skilled in m e d i c i n e . A thousand years

befor< ( hrist then a a college of pnysiciai in Egypt, including both sexes. The mother of the philosopher, Socrates, was a

midwife. Tin 1 might go 0D and name

control of the government.' Upon tin promulgation of this, all but twelve of th women left Zurich: but,in the meantime, th medical school at I terne had b It women, and a number of these went ther

;i nd cont inued t heir s t u d i e s . S i m , ' t hat t i m e , w o m e n h a \ e I U |

1

D -iv women among tne ancients who knew, t 1 t.the rudimentsof medicine and pracIthe art of healing. During the eleventh nd twelfth nturies,several women became lei is t ihers of medicine in tie

hool at S a l e r n o , and later, in ot her

mitted to study medicine at the A.cadeun St. Petersburg and the University I Mos cow in Russia, and the University of 11-1singfors in Finland, b\ order of th IV

I n ot her count i e s < f l'.uroj > I lie I ii