Madras Medical College, a cradle of medical education in India

The college had its origin in a private medical hall run by D. Mortimer, superintendent of the Government General Hospital. It was then regularised as Madras Medical School and attached to the general hospital, and officially became MMC in 1850

It opened up new horizons for young medico Saranya S, who hailed from Keelaperambalur village in Perambalur district, while it led senior diabetologist V. Seshiah to a path-breaking work in gestational diabetes. Shakthi Meenal’s love for medicine and history found newer beginnings here, while it gave a platform for DMK MLA N. Ezhilan to improve his scientific temper and helped him develop leadership skills.

Madras Medical College (MMC), established in 1835, is more than a teaching institution for thousands of medical professionals. In Tamil Nadu, it is almost every medical aspirant’s dream to study at MMC.

The institution had its origin in a private medical hall run by D. Mortimer, superintendent of the Government General Hospital. It was then regularised as the Madras Medical School and attached to the general hospital, and officially became MMC in 1850.

Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University vice-chancellor Sudha Seshayyan, who did her MBBS and post-graduate studies at MMC, rightly observes, “The history of modern medical education in the whole of Asia cannot be separated from the history of MMC.”

It was from here that social reformer Muthulakshmi Reddy, the first Indian woman to obtain a university medical degree, graduated. “In fact, it was then surgeon-general Edward Green Balfour who wrote in favour of women getting admitted to MMC. Calcutta Medical College and MMC were started a few days apart. When Calcutta presidency recommended that women join medical college, the Calcutta Medical College refused, leading to women making their way to Madras. Women students started to be admitted to MMC in 1875,” Dr. Seshayyan recalled.

In fact, according to an article in The Hindu on August 5, 1935, “Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy, pointed out at the meeting, held on Friday, to concert measures for the centenary celebrations, that the Madras Medical College was the first institution in India to open its portals to lady students. That was a great step — even a revolutionary step — in those days.”

MMC’s “Red Fort”, the eastern block constructed in 1897, housed the Department of Anatomy for several decades. It remains a key identity of the institution.