Virginia Apgar

Infobox Person
name = Virginia Apgar

---

caption =
birth_date = birth date|1909|6|7|mf=y
dead=dead
birth_place = Westfield, New Jersey
death_date = death date and age|1974|8|7|1909|6|7|mf=y
death_place = New York City, New York

Virginia Apgar (June 7, 1909–August 7, 1974) was an American physician who specialised in anesthesia and pediatrics. She was a leader in the fields of anesthesiology and teratology, and effectively founded the field of neonatology. To the public, however, she is best known as the developer of the Apgar test, a method of assessing the health of newborn babies that has drastically reduced infant mortality over the world.

Biography

She graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 1929, and the Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons in 1933.

In 1949, Apgar became the first woman to become a full professor at Columbia P&S [ [http://www.mtholyoke.edu/lits/library/changingthefaceofmedicine/connection.shtml Women in Medicine Exhibit Resources ] ] , while she also did clinical and research work at the affiliated Sloane Hospital for Women. [ [http://cumc.columbia.edu/dept/obgyn/about/history.html Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology ] ] In 1959, she earned a Master of Public Health degree from the Johns Hopkins University.

In 1953, she introduced the first test, called the Apgar score, to assess the health of newborn babies. It is administered one minute and five minutes after birth, and sometimes also at 10 minutes.

While Apgar was frequently the "first woman" or "only woman" in a department, to serve in a position, or win an accolade, she avoided the organized women's movement, proclaiming that "women are liberated from the time they leave the womb". [ [http://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/CP/Views/Exhibit/narrative/biographical.html Brief biography] , National Library of Medicine, The Virginia Apgar Papers.]

Apgar never married, and died on August 7, 1974, at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center.

ignificant works

* More than sixty scientific papers
* Countless papers for the popular press
* "Is My Baby All Right?" with Joan Beck (1972)

Recognition and awards

* Honorary doctorate, Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania (1964)
* Honorary doctorate, Mount Holyoke College (1965)
* Distinguished Service Award from the American Society of Anesthesiologists (1966)
* Elizabeth Blackwell Award, from the American Women's Medical Association (1966)
* Honorary doctorate, New Jersey College of Medicine and Dentistry (1967)
* Alumni Gold Medal for Distinguished Achievement, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (1973)
* Ralph M. Waters Award, American Society of Anesthesiologists (1973)
* Woman of the Year in Science, "Ladies Home Journal" (1973)

Apgar has continued to earn posthumous recognition for her contributions and achievements. In 1994, she was commemorated on a U.S. postal stamp. In November 1995 she was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, New York

References

*Citation
id = PMID:16244485
url= http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16244485
last=Pearce
first=J M S
publication-date=2005
year=2005
title=Virginia Apgar (1909-1974): neurological evaluation of the newborn infant.
volume=54
issue=3
periodical=Eur. Neurol.
pages=132-4
doi = 10.1159/000089084
*Citation
id = PMID:12585247
url= http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12585247
last=Goodwin
first=James W
publication-date=2002 Mar
year=2002
title=A personal recollection of Virginia Apgar.
volume=24
issue=3
periodical=Journal of obstetrics and gynaecology Canada : JOGC = Journal d'obstétrique et gynécologie du Canada : JOGC
pages=248-9
*Citation
id = PMID:11242930
url= http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11242930
last=Goldman
first=R
last2=Blickstein
first2=I
publication-date=2001 Feb
year=2001
title= [Dr. Virginia Apgar--1909-1974]
volume=140
issue=2
periodical=Harefuah
pages=177-8
*Citation
id = PMID:11141369
url= http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11141369
last=Mazana Casanova
first=J S
publication-date=2000 Nov
year=2000
title= [Virginia Apgar and her postnatal test half a century later]
volume=53
issue=5
periodical=An. Esp. Pediatr.
pages=469
*Citation
id = PMID:11114450
url= http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11114450
last=Baskett
first=T F
publication-date=2000 Nov
year=2000
title=Virginia Apgar and the newborn Apgar score.
volume=47
issue=3
periodical=Resuscitation
pages=215-7
*Citation
id = PMID:10191354
url= http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10191354
last=Jay
first=V
publication-date=
year=
title=On a historical note: Dr. Virginia apgar.
volume=2
issue=3
periodical=Pediatr. Dev. Pathol.
pages=292-4
*Citation
id = PMID:8917248
url= http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8917248
last=Morishima
first=H O
publication-date=1996 Nov
year=1996
title=Virginia Apgar (1909-1974).
volume=129
issue=5
periodical=J. Pediatr.
pages=768-70
*Citation
id = PMID:7791393
url= http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7791393
last=Shampo
first=M A
last2=Kyle
first2=R A
publication-date=1995 Jul
year=1995
title=Virginia Apgar--the Apgar score.
volume=70
issue=7
periodical=Mayo Clin. Proc.
pages=680
*Citation
id = PMID:7854290
url= http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7854290
last=Butterfield
first=L J
publication-date=1994 Sep
year=1994
title=Virginia Apgar, MD, MPhH.
volume=13
issue=6
periodical=Neonatal network : NN
pages=81-3
*Citation
id = PMID:7965228
url= http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7965228
last=Butterfield
first=L J
publication-date=
year=
title=Virginia Apgar, MD, MPhH (1909-1974).
volume=14
issue=4
periodical=Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association
pages=310
*Citation
id = PMID:8013307
url= http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8013307
last=Ignatius
first=J
publication-date=1993
year=1993
title= [Virginia Apgar 1909-1974]
volume=109
issue=1
periodical=Duodecim; lääketieteellinen aikakauskirja
pages=54-5
*Citation
id = PMID:2016983
url= http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2016983
last=Appelgren
first=L
publication-date=1991 Apr 3
year=1991
title= [The woman behind the Apgar score. Virginia Apgar. The woman behind the scoring system for quality control of the newborn]
volume=88
issue=14
periodical=Lakartidningen
pages=1304-6
*Citation
id = PMID:2232990
url= http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2232990
last=Wilhelmson-Lindell
first=B
publication-date=1990 Oct 3
year=1990
title= [Virginia Apgar Award to Petter Karlberg. After 45 years of pioneering commission as a pediatrician, the research on body-soul-environment is tempting]
volume=87
issue=40
periodical=Lakartidningen
pages=3198-200
*Citation
id = PMID:2677904
url= http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2677904
last=Kovács
first=J
publication-date=1989 Sep 17
year=1989
title= [In commemoration of Virginia Apgar]
volume=130
issue=38
periodical=Orvosi hetilap
pages=2049-50
*Citation
id = PMID:6392395
url= http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6392395
last=Calmes
first=S H
publication-date=
year=
title=Virginia Apgar: a woman physician's career in a developing specialty.
volume=39
issue=6
periodical=Journal of the American Medical Women's Association (1972)
pages=184-8
*Citation
id = PMID:320667
url= http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/320667
last=Schoenberg
first=D G
last2=Schoenberg
first2=B S
publication-date=1977 Jan
year=1977
title=Eponym: yes, Virginia, there is an Apgar score.
volume=70
issue=1
periodical=South. Med. J.
pages=101
*Citation
id = PMID:319701
url= http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/319701
last=Frey
first=R
last2=Bendixen
first2=H
publication-date=1977 Jan
year=1977
title= [In memoriam Virginia Apgar 1909-1974]
volume=26
issue=1
periodical=Der Anaesthesist
pages=45
*Citation
id = PMID:782603
url= http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/782603
last=James
first=L S
publication-date=1976
year=1976
title=Dedication to Virginia Apgar, MD.
volume=12
issue=5
periodical=Birth Defects Orig. Artic. Ser.
pages=xx-xxi
*Citation
id = PMID:1089236
url= http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1089236
last=James
first=L S
publication-date=1975 Jan
year=1975
title=Fond memories of Virginia Apgar.
volume=55
issue=1
periodical=Pediatrics
pages=1-4
*Citation
id = PMID:4617325
url= http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/4617325
last=James
first=L W
publication-date=1974 Dec
year=1974
title=Memories of Virginia Apgar.
volume=10
issue=3
periodical=Teratology
pages=213-5

External links

* [http://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/CP/Views/Exhibit/narrative/biographical.html Biography from profiles in science]
* [http://www.mtholyoke.edu/lits/library/arch/col/msrg/mancol/ms0504r.htm Mount Holyoke biography]
* [http://c250.columbia.edu/c250_celebrates/remarkable_columbians/virginia_apgar.html Columbia biography]
* [http://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/CP/ The Virginia Apgar Papers]
* [http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/apgar.html MIT biography]
* [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/theymadeamerica/whomade/apgar_hi.html PBS]
* [http://www.greatwomen.org/women.php?action=viewone&id=14 National Women's Hall of Fame]
* [http://www.nlm.nih.gov/changingthefaceofmedicine/physicians/biography_12.html Changing the Face of Medicine]
* [http://www.whonamedit.com/doctor.cfm/204.html Full biography] on [http://www.whonamedit.com WhoNamedIt.com]
* [http://apgar.net/virginia/ Grandnephew's memorial page at apga