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Elizabeth Bagshaw (Photo courtesy of The Hamilton Spectator)

Elizabeth Bagshaw: Fighting for reproductive rights in Canada

When Dr. Elizabeth Bagshaw retired in 1976, she was the oldest physician practising in Canada. In her illustrious 70-year career, …View Elizabeth Bagshaw: Fighting for reproductive rights in Canada

Dr. Peters adjusting a patient for radiotherapy. Collection of Dr. Charles Hayter.

Vera Peters and the fight against breast cancer

Today, women with early breast cancer are usually treated with breast conserving therapy (removal of the cancerous lump followed …View Vera Peters and the fight against breast cancer

Photograph of laboratory 221 in the Old Medical Building, University of Toronto. This was the laboratory in which Banting and Best carried out some of their research in 1921-22. Courtesy Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, University of Toronto. Banting Collection. P10043.

Realizing the dream: The discovery of insulin

The news was stunning. Suddenly, in early 1922, researchers at the University of Toronto announced that they had discovered an …View Realizing the dream: The discovery of insulin

Drs. Jim Till and Ernest McCulloch (Photo: University of Toronto)

Blood-forming stem cells: An Ontario story

Blood . . . it circulates through our bodies, supplies energy, defends against internal and external danger, and heals …View Blood-forming stem cells: An Ontario story

George Klein (Photo: National Research Council)

Doctors, discoveries and developments: Medical achievements and health care in Ontario

1824 Dr. Charles Duncombe opens the first medical school in Ontario, in St Thomas.


1839 College of Physicians and Surgeons of …View Doctors, discoveries and developments: Medical achievements and health care in Ontario

In addition to representing mental, physical, spiritual and emotional health, the quadrants of the medicine wheel are often used to represent the four seasons, stages of life, directions and elements of nature. The colours and colour placement in medicine wheels vary from nation to nation.

Indigenous traditional medicine

“Traditional medicine” refers to knowledge and practices of Indigenous peoples that promote health and well-being, and that have …View Indigenous traditional medicine

Wilfred G. Bigelow, A2012-0009/002 (69), University of Toronto Archives (UTA), Robert Lansdale Photography Ltd.

Repairing hearts: Innovations in cardiac surgery

Once considered off-limits to the surgeon’s scalpel, a diseased heart is no longer an immediate death sentence.


In 1900, the …View Repairing hearts: Innovations in cardiac surgery

Lyndhurst Lodge, a community-based rehabilitation centre, was established to assist Canadian veterans who had suffered spinal cord injuries in the Second World War. Photo Courtesy of Spinal Cord Injury Ontario.

Ontario’s medical legacy

In the mid-19th century, a typical doctor ran a solo practice, often making house calls on horseback or by sleigh. Many treatments …View Ontario’s medical legacy

This 19th-century porcelain leech jar – on display at the Niagara Apothecary in Niagara-on-the-Lake – used to hold live medicinal leeches. Leeches were a popular 19th century treatment for skin infections. Still used currently in hospitals for micro surgery to maintain venous circulation. The saliva of the leech contains a useful anticoagulant.

Resources: Medical science and innovation in Ontario

These web resources listed below provide an introduction to the history of medical science and innovation in Ontario:
Banting …View Resources: Medical science and innovation in Ontario