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A History of Women in Medicine and Medical Research: Exploring the Trailblazers of STEM
In the nineteenth century, a small but dedicated group of European and American women rose to agitate for the inclusion of women in the medical profession. It is a historic tale that we have told and retold for decades, but it is far from where the story of women as physicians and healers begins. Stretching back into deepest antiquity, we possess accounts of women who were consulted by emperors and paupers alike for their medical expertise. They were surgeons, apothecaries, midwives, university lecturers, and medical researchers in correspondence with the most learned societies of their time.
And then it all came crashing down.
A History of Women in Medicine and Medical Research is the story of the women who participated in that early Golden Age, and of a medical establishment closing ranks against them so effectively that, by the early Victorian era, they not only were barred from practicing medicine, but from so much as stepping into a classroom where medical topics were being discussed. It is the story of that intrepid band of reformers and pioneers who built back the women's medical profession from the ashes and constructed a thriving new community of researchers and practitioners who within a century had retaken not only the ground that had been lost, but boldly advanced to levels of fame and achievement unimaginable to any previous era.
Told through in-depth accounts of the lives of the pioneers and practitioners who built and rebuilt the women's medical movement, this title dives into the lives of not only legendary figures like Florence Nightingale, Gertrude Elion, Rosalyn Yalow, and Elizabeth Blackwell, but visits women the world over whose medical contributions broke down doors and advanced the cause of women's and world health, like the revolutionary medieval physician Trota of Salerno, the pioneering eighteenth century midwife and businesswoman Madame du Coudray, the microbiological research trailblazer Mary Putnam Jacobi, and the HIV researcher and world epidemic response coordinator Francoise Barre-Sinoussi.
With over 140 stories spanning three millennia of global medicine, this book shines a light on the unknown heroes, towering discoveries, tragic missteps, and profound struggles that have accompanied the Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of the women's medical profession.
And then it all came crashing down.
A History of Women in Medicine and Medical Research is the story of the women who participated in that early Golden Age, and of a medical establishment closing ranks against them so effectively that, by the early Victorian era, they not only were barred from practicing medicine, but from so much as stepping into a classroom where medical topics were being discussed. It is the story of that intrepid band of reformers and pioneers who built back the women's medical profession from the ashes and constructed a thriving new community of researchers and practitioners who within a century had retaken not only the ground that had been lost, but boldly advanced to levels of fame and achievement unimaginable to any previous era.
Told through in-depth accounts of the lives of the pioneers and practitioners who built and rebuilt the women's medical movement, this title dives into the lives of not only legendary figures like Florence Nightingale, Gertrude Elion, Rosalyn Yalow, and Elizabeth Blackwell, but visits women the world over whose medical contributions broke down doors and advanced the cause of women's and world health, like the revolutionary medieval physician Trota of Salerno, the pioneering eighteenth century midwife and businesswoman Madame du Coudray, the microbiological research trailblazer Mary Putnam Jacobi, and the HIV researcher and world epidemic response coordinator Francoise Barre-Sinoussi.
With over 140 stories spanning three millennia of global medicine, this book shines a light on the unknown heroes, towering discoveries, tragic missteps, and profound struggles that have accompanied the Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of the women's medical profession.
216 pages, Hardcover
Published December 2, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 31, 2026
5 stars: A deeply insightful and meticulously researched book; it chronicles both the systematic marginalisation of women in medicine and their extraordinary contributions despite it. By examining the countless barriers, injustices, and struggles these women endured, it provides an illuminating perspective on a frequently neglected chapter of history. Would recommend it to anyone searching for a book that’s both comprehensive, easily digestible and informative.
May 22, 2026
Dale DeBakcsy evokes the fateful arc of women’s medical history—a story of ancient prominence, systematic erasure, and a fierce, hard-won rebirth.
Contrary to the myth that women only recently entered medicine, the deepest antiquity was a Golden Age. In ancient Egypt, Peseshet directed female physicians; in medieval Italy, Trota of Salerno and the "Women of Salerno" anchored world-renowned medical faculties, writing foundational texts on obstetrics and pharmacology. Women were university lecturers, surgeons, and trusted researchers.
But as medicine professionalised, the establishment closed ranks. By the early Victorian era, institutional gates slammed shut. Women were barred from licensing, practice, and entering classrooms. If they wanted to heal, they had to hide, like James Barry, who lived as a man to serve as a military surgeon.
The nineteenth-century rebirth was forged through sheer resilience against institutional hostility. Pioneers faced brutal professional and personal isolation:
The Edinburgh Seven were pelted with mud by male classmates for attempting to sit for medical exams.
Elizabeth Blackwell won admission to medical school as a practical joke, only to graduate top of her class and found the New York Infirmary.
Mary Putnam Jacobi used rigorous microbiological science to debunk the sexist medical consensus that menstruation rendered women invalid.
Anandi Gopal Joshi and Rukhmabai defied colonial and patriarchal structures in India to bring Western medical training to marginalized women.
Their triumphs revolutionised global healthcare. Florence Nightingale built modern nursing; Virginia Apgar created the universal newborn scoring system; Gertrude Elion designed rational drug design, yielding treatments for leukemia; and Françoise Barré-Sinoussi co-discovered HIV.
DeBakcsy’s history is a vital reminder that today's achievements were rebuilt from the ashes of forced exclusion, carried by pioneers who retook lost ground to change medicine forever.
Contrary to the myth that women only recently entered medicine, the deepest antiquity was a Golden Age. In ancient Egypt, Peseshet directed female physicians; in medieval Italy, Trota of Salerno and the "Women of Salerno" anchored world-renowned medical faculties, writing foundational texts on obstetrics and pharmacology. Women were university lecturers, surgeons, and trusted researchers.
But as medicine professionalised, the establishment closed ranks. By the early Victorian era, institutional gates slammed shut. Women were barred from licensing, practice, and entering classrooms. If they wanted to heal, they had to hide, like James Barry, who lived as a man to serve as a military surgeon.
The nineteenth-century rebirth was forged through sheer resilience against institutional hostility. Pioneers faced brutal professional and personal isolation:
The Edinburgh Seven were pelted with mud by male classmates for attempting to sit for medical exams.
Elizabeth Blackwell won admission to medical school as a practical joke, only to graduate top of her class and found the New York Infirmary.
Mary Putnam Jacobi used rigorous microbiological science to debunk the sexist medical consensus that menstruation rendered women invalid.
Anandi Gopal Joshi and Rukhmabai defied colonial and patriarchal structures in India to bring Western medical training to marginalized women.
Their triumphs revolutionised global healthcare. Florence Nightingale built modern nursing; Virginia Apgar created the universal newborn scoring system; Gertrude Elion designed rational drug design, yielding treatments for leukemia; and Françoise Barré-Sinoussi co-discovered HIV.
DeBakcsy’s history is a vital reminder that today's achievements were rebuilt from the ashes of forced exclusion, carried by pioneers who retook lost ground to change medicine forever.
November 28, 2022
Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.
A History of Women in Medicine and Medical Research is a well written and layman accessible collection of short biographies of women luminaries in the medical fields, written and curated by Dale Debakcsy. Released 3rd Nov 2022 in the UK (due out 15th Dec elsewhere) by Pen & Sword on their History imprint, it's 224 pages and is/will be available in hardcover format.
The biographies are arranged in roughly chronological order, from Peseshet (~27th century BCE) to Dr. Virginia Apgar (1909-1974) and cover a gratifyingly large range of specialties and subjects. The subjects are from all geographical areas, not just well born women from Europe and North America.
Although it's not annotated and there are no chapter notes, this is a readable and fascinating look at some of the contributions of women over the last millennia to furthering the sciences, especially in medicine and biotech. It's completely accessible for readers of roughly teen to adult ages. The author has included an abbreviated bibliography, and there's an included index. It's not lavishly illustrated, but there is a chapter with interesting black and white photos at the end of some of the biography subjects.
Five stars. It would make a superlative choice for public and school library acquisition, gift giving, and home use.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
A History of Women in Medicine and Medical Research is a well written and layman accessible collection of short biographies of women luminaries in the medical fields, written and curated by Dale Debakcsy. Released 3rd Nov 2022 in the UK (due out 15th Dec elsewhere) by Pen & Sword on their History imprint, it's 224 pages and is/will be available in hardcover format.
The biographies are arranged in roughly chronological order, from Peseshet (~27th century BCE) to Dr. Virginia Apgar (1909-1974) and cover a gratifyingly large range of specialties and subjects. The subjects are from all geographical areas, not just well born women from Europe and North America.
Although it's not annotated and there are no chapter notes, this is a readable and fascinating look at some of the contributions of women over the last millennia to furthering the sciences, especially in medicine and biotech. It's completely accessible for readers of roughly teen to adult ages. The author has included an abbreviated bibliography, and there's an included index. It's not lavishly illustrated, but there is a chapter with interesting black and white photos at the end of some of the biography subjects.
Five stars. It would make a superlative choice for public and school library acquisition, gift giving, and home use.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
December 20, 2022
I loved this book. The writing is crisp and well-paced, with some well-placed lightness. By necessity, the biographical profiles are short but this allows more women to be discussed. I also liked the very short snippets of the women who did not have longer entries. The book, aside from being highly informative, was fun to read. There was a lot of clever wording and some absolutely brilliant writing, and I would read these passages multiple times. I also enjoyed DeBakcsy’s discussions of further readings after each chapter, where one specific reading was discussed in a bit of detail, as opposed to the long lists usually found in books. Overall this was a great read. Thank you to Netgalley and Pen & Sword, Pen & Sword History for the advance reader copy.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews