Virginia Apgar
| Virginia Apgar | |
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Virginia Apgar (July 6, 1959)
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| Born |
June 7, 1909 Westfield, New Jersey |
| Died | August 7, 1974 (aged 65) New York City |
Virginia Apgar (June 7, 1909 – August 7, 1974) was an American obstetrical anesthesiologist. She was a leader in the fields of anesthesiology and teratology, and introduced obstetrical considerations to the established field of neonatology. To the public, however, she is best known as the inventor of the Apgar score, a way to quickly assess the health of newborn children immediately after birth.
The youngest of three children, Apgar was born and raised in Westfield, New Jersey, graduating from Westfield High School in 1925. She graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 1929, where she studied zoology with minors in physiology and chemistry, and from the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (CUCPS) in 1933. She completed a residency in surgery at CUCPS in 1937. Although her work kept her busy, Apgar found time to pursue her many outside interests. She traveled with her violin, often playing in amateur chamber quartets wherever she happened to be. During the 1950s a friend introduced her to instrument-making, and together they made two violins, a viola, and a cello. She was an enthusiastic gardener, and enjoyed fly-fishing, golfing, and stamp collecting. In her fifties, Apgar started taking flying lessons, stating that her goal was to someday fly under New York's George Washington Bridge.
She was encouraged to practice anesthesiology by Allen Whipple, the chairman of surgery at CUCPS, who felt that advancements in anesthesia were needed to further advance surgery and felt that she had the "energy and ability" to make a significant contribution. She then further trained in anesthesia, receiving certification as an anesthesiologist in 1937, and returned to CUCPS in 1938 as director of the newly formed division of anesthesia.
In 1949, Apgar became the first woman to become a full professor at CUCPS, where she remained until 1959. During this time, she also did clinical and research work at the affiliated Sloane Hospital for Women. In 1953, she introduced the first test, called the Apgar score, to assess the health of newborn babies. The Apgar score is calculated based on an infant's condition at one minute and five minutes after birth. If the five-minute Apgar score is low, additional scores may be assigned every five minutes.
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