Margaret Gladys Smith, MD, was the first woman to head a department at Washington University School of Medicine, serving as the de facto chair of the Department of Pathology after the sudden death of Howard A. McCordock, MD, in November 1938. Until the appointment of a new chair in July 1939, Smith led the department [Read more]
Base Hospital 21 – the World War I U.S. military hospital base in Rouen, France that was staffed by doctors and nurses of the Washington University Medical Center and civilian volunteers from the St. Louis area – served with distinction during the war and after. Following the armistice ending the war on Nov. 11, 1918, [Read more]
It reads like the beginning of a horror story. “At 8 o’clock Monday evening three very rough-looking men entered a saloon known as the ‘Gravois Cave’ on a corner opposite of the cemetery…The men remained only a few minutes and when they went out they separated going in different directions and leaving a light spring-wagon, [Read more]
When the United States entered World War I, Base Hospital 21, the medical reserve unit based at the Washington University Medical Center, placed a call for volunteers as the U.S. had yet to institute the draft. There was a great response from the public. In a nation of immigrants, many enthusiastically joined up in support [Read more]
Today, nearly 300 women attend Washington University School of Medicine, making up approximately 50 percent of the student body. One hundred years ago this month, the School of Medicine admitted its first women medical students.
One of the great pioneers in research at Washington University School of Medicine was Lenabell McClelland Bell.
By November of 1917, the original members of Base Hospital 21 were six months into their deployment to Rouen, France. Recruited from the Washington University Medical Center, the doctors, nurses and enlisted personnel who had left St. Louis in May with great fanfare were now settling into a routine that included being severely overworked. When the unit arrived in France to assume control of a British army hospital, it became obvious they were seriously understaffed.
As new and returning medical students come to Washington University in St. Louis to throw themselves into their studies, we remember that self-experimentation in medical research has a long tradition at the School of Medicine. One of the earliest examples involves two medical school students, Alfred Goldman, MD 1920, and Samuel B. Grant, MD 1920, and [Read more]
Lately, it seems the Washington University Medical Center is in a constant state of construction. Before one building is completed, work on another site begins. As the medical center has grown throughout its 100-year history, countless architects, construction workers, and artists have left their mark on its buildings. One unique finishing touch is a concrete [Read more]
Nothing lasts forever, but archivists and librarians are dedicated to making sure some things last a very long time. Preservation Week is the perfect opportunity to learn more about what you can do to preserve your own favorite photos and important documents. Following a few simple guidelines can add decades to the life of a [Read more]