Medical education

Medical Schools and Their Reputations, a Concern both Past and Present

Staff From our researchers, Out of the stacks February 19, 2020February 18, 2020History of medicine, Human cadaver dissection, Medical education

– by Wood Institute travel grantee Laura Smith*

On November 1, 1874, Dr. James H. Lenow procured the cadaver of an African American man from the state penitentiary in Arkansas and began dissecting it in a shed at the Little Rock Barracks, a military facility. Lenow would become an early faculty member at what would eventually be known as the University of Arkansas Medical School (UAMS) which was also located in Little Rock. The story of the dissection gave him prestige among the city’s residents and inspired local confidence in a growing medical status in the South. Lenow’s was the first legal dissection in Arkansas, and the state was so mesmerized by the deed that they built a monument to the dissection in May of 1927 on the spot it took place. The monument still stands today.

Digitizing early medical education

Staff Breaking news, Out of the stacks, Staff projects January 29, 2020January 29, 2020Digitization, Grant projects, History of medicine, Medical education, Philadelphia history

We are pleased to announce that over 20,000 pages of lecture notes and related material has been digitized to date as part of “For the Health of the New Nation” grant. “For the Health of the New Nation: Philadelphia as the Center of American Medical Education, 1746-1868” is a two-year project funded by CLIR and organized by the Philadelphia Area Consortium for Special Collections Libraries (PACSCL). The initiative will digitize, describe, and provide access to 140,000 pages of lecture tickets, course schedules, theses, dissertations, student notes, faculty lectures notes, commencement addresses, opening addresses, and matriculation records, sharing not only the voices of the medical greats, but also the often unheard voices of students.