Mary Wissinger - Women in Medicine

Heart Valves

Your heartbeat is the sound of your amazing heart pumping blood through your body. The valves inside your heart go lub dub as they open and close to let blood pass through.

Dr. Helen Taussig saw the connection between a healthy heart and a healthy patient. She worked with children whose hearts couldnt pump enough blood to their lungs.

Nobody could figure out how to help, but Dr. Helen didnt give up. Even after she lost her hearing, she listened for that lub dub sound with her hands. Eventually, she found a way to solve the problem: a surgery that could create a new path, called a shunt, for blood to flow to the lungs.

Blalock-Thomas-Taussig Shunt

When a surgeon finally agreed to try Dr. Helens daring operation, it worked!

The Blalock-Thomas-Taussig shunt operation is still performed today, usually on babies who get to grow up thanks to Dr. Helens efforts. Her revolutionary work made her the first doctor in the brand new healthcare specialty that she created: pediatric cardiology.

Dr. Helen Taussig

(HEL-ehn TAOW-sihg)

United States, 18981986

Its hard to say, because healthcare workers have been caring for people for as long as there have been people. Peseshet was in charge of women doctors in Egypt over 4,000 years ago. It was an important job, because just like today, people counted on doctors for their wisdom and healing expertise.

Peseshet and her doctors didnt have modern medicines or technology like ours, so they had to be very creative. Doctors of the time used fabric for bandages and made medicines with materials such as honey, coal, and plants. They set broken bones, healed wounds, and helped people with all kinds of health issues.

Peseshet

(PEH-seh-shet)

Egypt, around 2500 BCE

Its not just doctors who keep people healthy, though. There are many different healthcare workers who make a difference in our lives.

Since ancient times, midwives like Xoquauhtli have cared for women and their unborn children. Xoquauhtli was a powerful member of the Aztec community. She visited pregnant women and kept track of their health. She encouraged the women to eat healthy foods so their babies could grow strong.

When it was time for a baby to be born, she used medicines to ease pain and quicken labor. After the baby arrived, Xoquauhtli cut the umbilical cord and made sure the baby stayed warm.

Xoquauhtli

(shoh-KWAUT-lee)

Mexico, around 1496

Ultrasound image of a fetus before birth

Midwives, nurses, and other healthcare workers today continue to do similar things. They also run tests and look at ultrasound pictures to watch developing babies as they grow. Soon after a baby is born, they are given a heel stick blood test.

The heel stick blood test checks for conditions that need treatment right away, such as sickle cell disease. Dr. Angella Ferguson is the woman behind this test.

Sickle cell disease can change the shape of red blood cells and make a person very sick. Dr. Angella realized there wasnt enough information about sickle cell disease, especially in African American children. She researched the disease and taught other doctors how to diagnose and treat it.

Dr. Angella Ferguson

(AN-jel-ah FER-guh-sun)

United States, 1925

But sometimes people were sick for years before the disease was diagnosed. Dr. Angella kept working and created the worlds first test for sickle cell disease.

At last, treatment could start at birth, immediately helping the 1,000 children worldwide who are born with the disease each day. Even though there is no cure, Dr. Angellas test and treatments help people with sickle cell disease live full lives.

When a disease is cured, it means that treatment can make sick people healthy again. Researchers are working toward a cure for sickle cell and many other diseases.

Tu Youyou discovered a cure for a disease called malaria. She led a team that used pharmacologythe st udy of medicines and how they work in our bodiesto develop a new medicine.