Women have practiced medicine since antiquity, even before the professionalization of modern medicine. Be it herbal remedies, alternative medicine, or midwifery, they have proved their natural roles as caregivers time and again, despite the greater number of men in the profession since ancient times. The history of women in medicine is long and wide, starting in ancient Greece and continuing to the present day.
According to historical records, Metrodora, also known as Cleopatra Metrodora, is one of the earliest known women in medicine. She was of Egyptian origin and lived in Greece around the 7th century AD. In addition to being an accomplished gynecologist, midwife, and innovative surgeon, Metrodora wrote several books. Her notable books are On the Uterus, Abdomen, and Kidneys and On Diseases and Cures of Women, in which she explains the particulars of the diseases that commonly afflict women.
Another of her influential contemporaries in ancient Greece was Aspasia (4th century AD). Metrodora and Aspasia climbed the ranks of the medical field by performing innovative surgeries, such as an operation for uterine hemorrhoids, varicose veins, and cosmetic surgeries.
Merit Ptah is known as the first female doctor who was the Royal court’s chief physician in 2700 BCE in the Egyptian dynasty. Peseshet was another physician known as the “Lady overseer of female physicians” in the Early Dynastic period in Egypt around 2500 BCE. She was cited as the first female doctor by name.
A lot of the women in medicine in the ancient world were left out of the official records even when the rest of the data and correspondence were well-kept. There are records of several women who practiced medicine by impersonating men. One such story is of Agnodice. She was known as the first female physician or midwife in ancient Greece (4th century BCE). She practiced medicine disguised as a man but was later found and tried for it. Her female patients protested her trial, and she was acquitted. Following her trial, the law which barred women from practicing medicine in ancient Greece was also revoked.
In early 12th century Germany, Hilgard was a nun and healer who founded two convents. She took spiritual and physical care of everyone coming to the monasteries as it was the safe haven for the sick and downtrodden. Once she gained autonomy after heading the convent at Ruperstberg, she produced many scientific-medical texts. The texts are Liber simplicis medicinae (Book of Simple Medicine), and the Liber compositae medicinae (Book of Compound Medicine). Continue reading from News Medical
Women Physicians Over the Centuries (Yale School of Medicine)
Rise, Serve, Lead: America's Women Physicians (US National Library of Medicine)
Timeline of Women in Medicine (American Medical Association)
Women in Medicine (Harvard University Library)
Celebrating 10 Women Medical Pioneers (Association of American Medical Colleges)
The Medical Practitioner Who Paved the Way for Women Doctors in America (Smithsonian)
Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler: The First African American Woman Doctor (The Westport Library)
