Louisa Burns ( 1869–1958) was an American osteopathic physician and researcher in osteopathic medicine.

Education

Burns was born in Indiana in 1869. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in 1892 from the

Borden Institute The Borden Institute is a U.S. Army “Center of Excellence in Military Medical Research and Education”. In 1987, U.S. Army Colonel Russ Zajtchuk conceived the idea for a “Center of Excellence in Military Medical Research and Education,” u ...

https://www.aacom.org/docs/default-source/med-ed-presentations/history-of-osteopathic-research-ecop-spring-2011-published-abbreviated.pdf and subsequently became a school teacher. Her interest in osteopathic medicine developed after she contracted a debilitating case of spinal meningitis, whose disabling effects were successfully reversed by osteopathic treatment. She went on to receive an osteopathic medicine degree from the Pacific College of Osteopathy in 1903. She then went on to earn a Master of Science from the

and a

Doctor of Science Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...

degree from the Pacific College of Osteopathy.

Career

Burns was a prominent researcher in the field of osteopathic medicine in the early 1900s. Her research focused on viscerosomatic reflexes. Using rabbits and other organisms, she studied "osteopathic lesions", assisting in the development of today's understanding of

somatic dysfunction Somatic may refer to: * Somatic (biology), referring to the cells of the body in contrast to the germ line cells ** Somatic cell, a non-gametic cell in a multicellular organism * Somatic nervous system, the portion of the vertebrate nervous syst ...

. She headed the A.T. Still Research Institute from 1917–1935. Burns retired in 1957 and died in 1958 in California.

Legacy

Louisa Burns has a house named after her at

Touro University Nevada Touro University Nevada (TUN) is a private university in Henderson, Nevada. It is part of the Touro College and University System. Touro University Nevada is a branch campus of its sister campus Touro University California. History Touro Unive ...

College of Medicine.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burns, Louisa 1869 births 1958 deaths 20th-century American physicians American osteopathic physicians Physicians from Indiana 20th-century American women physicians University of California, Irvine alumni