Elaine Marjory Little (2 June 1884 – 2 May 1974) was an Australian

pathologist Pathology is the study of the causal, causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when us ...

. The daughter of Joseph Henry Little, a medical practitioner born in Ireland, and Agnes Elisabeth Mellor, his wife, a native of England, she was born in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

. The family moved to England following the death of her mother. Dr. Little returned to Australia and practised in

Armidale Armidale is a city in the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. Armidale had a population of 24,504 as of June 2018. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. It is the administrative centre for the Northern Tablelands region. It ...

and later Brisbane. She was educated in Brisbane, in England and at the Girls' High School in Armidale, going on to receive a

BSc A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

and MB from the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

. From 1914 to 1915, Little was a pathology demonstrator at the University. She served as junior and then senior resident at

Royal Prince Alfred Hospital The Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (abbreviated RPAH or RPA) is a major public teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia, located on Missenden Road in Camperdown. It is a teaching hospital of the Central Clinical School of the Sydney Medical School ...

from 1915 to 1917. When Little tried to enlist in the

Australian Army Medical Corps The Royal Australian Army Medical Corps (RAAMC) is the branch of the Australian Army responsible for providing medical care to Army personnel. The AAMC was formed in 1902 through the amalgamation of medical units of the various Australian coloni ...

, she was turned away because the Corps did not admit women at the time. She paid her own way to England and enlisted in the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...

in 1918 as a captain. She was assigned to the

Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine The Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine, informally known as the Lister Institute, was established as a research institute (the British Institute of Preventive Medicine) in 1891, with bacteriologist Marc Armand Ruffer as its first director, us ...

but soon was transferred to France where she served with the 25th Stationary Hospital and then the isolation hospital at

Étaples Étaples or Étaples-sur-Mer (; vls, Stapel, lang; pcd, Étape) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. It is a fishing and leisure port on the Canche river. History Étaples takes its name from having been a medieval ...

. Her commanding officer there wrote a letter to Sir Charles Martin, director of the Lister Institute, commending Little for her hard work and dedication. In 1920, she returned to work at the University of Sydney as a demonstrator. She then established her own practice as a pathologist. She was named consulting

hematologist Hematology (American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, always spelled haematology in British English) is the branch of medicine concerned with the study of the cause, prognosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases related to ...

Sydney Hospital Sydney Hospital is a major hospital in Australia, located on Macquarie Street in the Sydney central business district. It is the oldest hospital in Australia, dating back to 1788, and has been at its current location since 1811. It first rece ...

and the

Royal North Shore Hospital The Royal North Shore Hospital (RNSH) is a major public teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia, located in St Leonards. It serves as a teaching hospital for Sydney Medical School at the University of Sydney and has over 600 beds. It is the prin ...

and honorary pathologist at the

Rachel Forster Hospital The Rachel Forster Hospital for Women and Children opened on 3 January 1922 in Redfern (an inner suburb of Sydney, Australia) as the 'New Hospital'. In 1925 the hospital was renamed after Baroness Rachel Forster, the wife of the then Governor- ...

for Women and Children. From 1935 to 1936, she was president of the Medical Women's Society of New South Wales. She served on the board for the Rachel Forster Hospital from 1949 to 1962. In 1938, she became a foundation fellow of the

Royal Australasian College of Physicians The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) is a not-for-profit professional organisation responsible for training and educating physicians and paediatricians across Australia and New Zealand. The RACP is responsible for training both ...

and, in 1957, a fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists of Australia. She retired from practice in 1952 and later died in

Lane Cove Lane Cove is a suburb on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Lane Cove is nine kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local governmen ...

at the age of 89.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Little, Elaine M 1884 births 1974 deaths Australian pathologists Royal Army Medical Corps officers Fellows of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians 20th-century women scientists 19th-century Australian women 20th-century Australian women Australian women of World War I