In a time long ago, there lived a lady who was well ahead of her time in the field of medicine. Her name was Dr Merit-Ptah and she is probably the world’s first known female physician, living in ancient Egypt in 2700 BC. Little has been discovered about the scope of her work, but all the evidence suggests that she did practice medicine and was also one of the first documented women in science.

A tomb near the site of the ancient Egyptian capital of Memphis displays her image and texts have been found that clearly refer to her as a physician.

Unfortunately, at a great loss for mankind, the progress of women in all fields (not just medicine) has been ridiculously slow due to deliberate male suppression.

Consider these facts before you take the equality of today’s society for granted:

– One of the first European female physicians was the Italian Dr Trotula of Salerno in the 12th century, almost 4,000 years after Merit-Ptah

– Women only started to gain access to major universities in the 19th century

– Medical schools across the world remained the mainstay of males until well into the 20th century (look at any class picture from the 1960s and 1970s)

– Socially, women in the United States got the universal right to vote with the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920 (less than one-hundred years ago)

– Only last year, did the British Royal Family change the succession rule, so that males no longer have the automatic right to the throne over first born females

Perhaps that last barrier, a female President, may be upon us soon too?

I once treated an elderly lady in a Baltimore hospital who told me that she was a retired physician. She said it proudly, because she was actually one of the first women in her medical school. It makes me proud of humanity to think that by the time I entered medical school in the late 1990s, my year was over 60 percent female!

And going back to Dr Merit-Ptah, the fact that she was distinguishing herself 5,000 years ago is truly incredible. Clearly, many in the scientific circle agree, and a famous crater on Venus is actually named in her honor! It’s difficult to feel anything but admiration for someone who must have been an extremely strong and accomplished lady.