First Female Neurosurgeon in the United States: Dorothy Klenke Nash, MD. 2021

Stephanie M Casillo, and Anisha Venkatesh, and Nallammai Muthiah, and Michael M McDowell, and Nitin Agarwal
Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.

Dr Dorothy Klenke Nash (1898-1976) became the first female neurosurgeon in the United States in 1928 and maintained her status as the country's only female neurosurgeon until 1960. She graduated with her medical degree from the Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1927 and then trained at the Neurologic Institute of New York under Dr Byron Stookey. During her training, she contributed to the advancement of neurosurgical practice through academic research. In 1931, she married Charles B. Nash, and together they had 2 children, George (1932) and Dorothy Patricia (1937). Dr Nash became a senior surgeon at St. Margaret's Hospital in Pittsburgh in 1942. Shortly thereafter, she joined the inaugural University of Pittsburgh Department of Neurosurgery led by Dr Stuart N. Rowe and became an instructor of neurosurgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. In acknowledgment of her advocacy for public access to services for mental health and cerebral palsy, Dr Nash was recognized as a Distinguished Daughter of Pennsylvania (1953) and honored by Mercy Hospital (1957), Bryn Mawr College (1960), and Columbia University (1968). She retired from neurosurgical practice in 1965, at which time she devoted herself to her grandchildren and her Catholic faith. She died on March 5, 1976 at the age of 77. With unwavering tenacity, Dr Nash paved the way for all women in neurosurgery.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D009493 Neurosurgery A surgical specialty concerned with the treatment of diseases and disorders of the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral and sympathetic nervous system. Neurosurgeries
D009518 New York State bounded on the north by Lake Ontario and Canada, on the east by Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, on the south by the Atlantic Ocean, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, and on the west by Pennsylvania, Lake Erie, and Canada.
D010414 Pennsylvania State bounded on the north by New York and Lake Erie, on the east by Delaware and New Jersey, on the south by Delaware and Maryland, and on the west by Ohio and West Virginia.
D002648 Child A person 6 to 12 years of age. An individual 2 to 5 years old is CHILD, PRESCHOOL. Children
D005260 Female Females
D006761 Hospitals Institutions with an organized medical staff which provide medical care to patients. Hospital
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000069471 Neurosurgeons Qualified medical professionals who specialize in surgical treatment of diseases of the BRAIN and other parts of the NERVOUS SYSTEM. Neurological Surgeons,Neurological Surgeon,Neurosurgeon,Surgeon, Neurological,Surgeons, Neurological
D014481 United States A country in NORTH AMERICA between CANADA and MEXICO.
D049673 History, 20th Century Time period from 1901 through 2000 of the common era. 20th Century History,20th Cent. History (Medicine),20th Cent. History of Medicine,20th Cent. Medicine,Historical Events, 20th Century,History of Medicine, 20th Cent.,History, Twentieth Century,Medical History, 20th Cent.,Medicine, 20th Cent.,20th Cent. Histories (Medicine),20th Century Histories,Cent. Histories, 20th (Medicine),Cent. History, 20th (Medicine),Century Histories, 20th,Century Histories, Twentieth,Century History, 20th,Century History, Twentieth,Histories, 20th Cent. (Medicine),Histories, 20th Century,Histories, Twentieth Century,History, 20th Cent. (Medicine),Twentieth Century Histories,Twentieth Century History

Related Publications

Stephanie M Casillo, and Anisha Venkatesh, and Nallammai Muthiah, and Michael M McDowell, and Nitin Agarwal
November 2021, Neurosurgery,
Stephanie M Casillo, and Anisha Venkatesh, and Nallammai Muthiah, and Michael M McDowell, and Nitin Agarwal
June 2023, World neurosurgery,
Stephanie M Casillo, and Anisha Venkatesh, and Nallammai Muthiah, and Michael M McDowell, and Nitin Agarwal
January 2004, Missouri medicine,
Stephanie M Casillo, and Anisha Venkatesh, and Nallammai Muthiah, and Michael M McDowell, and Nitin Agarwal
April 2007, Neurosurgery,
Stephanie M Casillo, and Anisha Venkatesh, and Nallammai Muthiah, and Michael M McDowell, and Nitin Agarwal
December 2007, Surgical innovation,
Stephanie M Casillo, and Anisha Venkatesh, and Nallammai Muthiah, and Michael M McDowell, and Nitin Agarwal
March 2024, World neurosurgery,
Stephanie M Casillo, and Anisha Venkatesh, and Nallammai Muthiah, and Michael M McDowell, and Nitin Agarwal
April 2019, World neurosurgery,
Stephanie M Casillo, and Anisha Venkatesh, and Nallammai Muthiah, and Michael M McDowell, and Nitin Agarwal
October 2007, Journal of the National Medical Association,
Stephanie M Casillo, and Anisha Venkatesh, and Nallammai Muthiah, and Michael M McDowell, and Nitin Agarwal
October 2023, World neurosurgery,
Copied contents to your clipboard!