Martha Wollstein
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Martha Wollstein (November 21, 1868 – September 30, 1939) was an American physician. Wollstein was born in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
to a
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Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...
ish family.


Biography

Wollstein was educated at the Woman's Medical College of the New York Infirmary, which became part of the
Cornell University Medical School Weill Cornell Medicine (; officially Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University), originally Cornell University Medical College, is the medical school of Cornell University, located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in Ne ...
in 1909. There she studied with
Mary Corinna Putnam Jacobi Mary Corinna Putnam Jacobi ( Putnam; August 31, 1842 – June 10, 1906) was an English-American physician, teacher, scientist, writer, and suffragist. She was the first woman admitted to study medicine at the University of Paris and the first ...
, with whom she would later publish her first paper in 1902, on a myosarcoma of the
uterus The uterus (from Latin ''uterus'', : uteri or uteruses) or womb () is the hollow organ, organ in the reproductive system of most female mammals, including humans, that accommodates the embryonic development, embryonic and prenatal development, f ...
. After graduating in 1890, Wollstein joined the Babies Hospital in New York, where she became a pathologist in 1892. Her work there included research on infant
diarrhea Diarrhea (American English), also spelled diarrhoea or diarrhœa (British English), is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements in a day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration d ...
,
malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...
,
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
, and
typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often th ...
. In 1904, she was invited by
Simon Flexner Simon Flexner (March 25, 1863 – May 2, 1946) was a physician, scientist, administrator, and professor of experimental pathology at the University of Pennsylvania (1899–1903). He served as the first director of the Rockefeller Institute for ...
to join the
Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research The Rockefeller University is a private biomedical research and graduate-only university in New York City, New York. It focuses primarily on the biological and medical sciences and provides doctoral and postdoctoral education. It is classified ...
as an assistant researcher, though she continued to work at the Babies Hospital even after this. At the Rockefeller Institute she did experimental work on polio, studied pneumonia, and helped to develop an antimeningitis serum. In a study published in the
Journal of the American Medical Association ''JAMA'' (''The Journal of the American Medical Association'') is a peer-reviewed medical journal published 48 times a year by the American Medical Association. It publishes original research, reviews, and editorials covering all aspects of ...
in 1918, she made an important contribution to the study of
mumps MUMPS ("Massachusetts General Hospital Utility Multi-Programming System"), or M, is an imperative, high-level programming language with an integrated transaction processing key–value database. It was originally developed at Massachusetts Gen ...
, by indicating that the disease could be
viral The word ''Viral'' means "relating to viruses" (small infectious agents). It may also refer to: Viral behavior, or virality Memetic behavior likened that of a virus, for example: * Viral marketing, the use of existing social networks to spre ...
in nature, which she showed by transmitting the disease "using a filtrated preparation from mumps patients to cats and from cats to other cats. She did not make any special claims for her research, though, and others received credit in the 1930s for identifying the virus and transmitting it from humans to monkeys." From 1921 until her retirement in 1935, Wollstein continued her research on various children's diseases at the Babies Hospital, including tuberculosis and
leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...
. In 1930 she was made a member of the
American Pediatric Society The American Pediatric Society (APS) is the first pediatric society established in North America. Created in 1887, the APS pursues a vision of an engaged, inclusive, and impactful community of pediatric thought leaders. The APS mission is to shape t ...
, as the first woman ever. She published eighty scientific papers during her career. She was a quiet woman, some said shy, and sometimes called difficult to work with, but she was known to have collaborated closely with a wide range of researchers both male and female. After her retirement she moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan. When she fell ill she moved back to New York, where she died on September 30, 1939, at Mount Sinai Hospital.


Select publications

*"A Biological Study of the Cerebro-Spinal Fluid in Anterior Poliomyletis." ''Journal of Experimental Medicine'' 10 (1908), pp. 476–83 *"The History of Women in Medicine." ''The Woman's Medical Journal'' 18 (1908), pp. 65–69 *"An Immunological Study Bacillus Influenzae." ''Journal of Experimental Medicine'' 22 (1915), pp. 445–56 *"An Experimental Study of Parotitis (Mumps)." ''Journal of the American Medical Association'' 71 (1918), pp. 639–44 *"Studies on the Phenomenon of D'Herelle with Bacillus Dysenteria." ''Journal of Experimental Medicine'' 34 (1921), pp. 467–76 *"A Study of Tuberculosis in Infants and Young Children." ''American Journal of Diseases of Children'' 21 (1921), pp. 48–56


External links

* Articles about Wollstein in the ''Journal of Medical Biography'' and ''Pediatric Developmental Pathology''. * Obituary in ''JAMA Pediatrics''. * Entry at th
Jewish Women's Archive


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wollstein, Martha 1868 births 1939 deaths Physicians from New York City American pediatricians American women pediatricians