Medical Education in the Early 1900’s- The Blankenhorn Era

• The next Chairman of the Department of Medicine was Dr. Marion Blankenhorn.
      - He was recruited from Western Reserve University.
      - He had served as a Captain in the Medical Corps in Europe during
        WWI where he developed interest in diseases of the chest.
      - In conjunction with Dr. Julian Benjamin, he founded the
        pneumonia laboratory.
      - At that time horse serum and rabbit serum were used to treat
        pneumococcal pneumonia.

• At this point, the divisions of Internal Medicine were
      beginning to form.

    - The pnuemonia laboratory later became the department of
      infectious diseases, the gastric laboratory became the division of
     digestive diseases, and the cardiac laboratory became the division
     of cardiology.


• Dr. Blankenhorn also helped to establish a Nutrition
      Laboratory.
      - Here the benefit of providing nicotinic acid to patients
        with Pellagra was demonstrated.
      - Dr. Vilter oversaw this division of internal medicine.
      - Later, Dr. Blankenhorn’s son, a cardiologist,
        demonstrated the beneficial effects of niacin (nicotinic
        acid) on lipid status.

Dr. Lucy Oxley In 1935, Dr. Lucy Oxley, became the first African American to graduate from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. She was a Cincinnatinative and went into family practice in the area. She stopped working only 6 months prior to her death in 1991.