UNAM The National Autonomous University of Mexico (, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It has several campuses in Mexico City, and many others in various locations across Mexico, as well as a presence in nine countries. It also has 34 ...

's School of Medicine (Spanish: Facultad de Medicina de la UNAM) is the

medical school A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, professional school, or forms a part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, ...

of the

National Autonomous University of Mexico The National Autonomous University of Mexico (, UNAM) is a public university, public research university in Mexico. It has several campuses in Mexico City, and many others in various locations across Mexico, as well as a presence in nine countri ...

(UNAM), located at the university's main campus of Ciudad Universitaria. Established in 1553 as part of the

Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico The Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico () was a university founded on 21 September 1551 by Royal Decree signed by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Charles I of Spain, in Valladolid, Spain. It is generally considered the first university fou ...

, it is one of the oldest medical schools in the Americas. The school has undergraduate and graduate studies departments. It does joint teaching with some other schools, e.g., the

School of Science The Medway School of Science is one of the schools of the University of Greenwich in South East England. The School of Science is based on the university's Medway campus in Chatham Maritime in the county of Kent. The School of Science has acti ...

. It also has many grants involving UNAM's Engineering School, in areas such as smart and connected health. It is one of the most recognized schools in the university and in Mexico. The latest three rectors of the university, including the current one, are former deans from this school.

History

The origin of the School of Medicine of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, known by the acronym UNAM) dates back to the 16th century, with the foundation of the Royal and Pontifical Mexico University (). In fact, the first decree that authorizes their creation was promulgated by Philip II in 1547 and endorsed in 1551. Nevertheless, the compliance of procedures and the liberation of the corresponding funds postponed the start of their activities until January 1553. By some years, in the area of the medicine, the university was limited to offer incorporation of degrees of other universities that needed it. The first degree of doctor in medicine was offered August 10, 1553 to Juan Blanco Alcázar. The first course of medicine given in The Royal and Pontifical Mexico University initiated its activities January 7, 1579. The program of studies was adjusted to the one used in the

University of Salamanca The University of Salamanca () is a public university, public research university in Salamanca, Spain. Founded in 1218 by Alfonso IX of León, King Alfonso IX, it is the oldest university in the Hispanic world and the fourth oldest in the ...

, just like the remainder of the regulatory activities of The Royal and Pontifical Mexico University. Such program consisted of four years of studies. Subsequently, the students carried out a practice of two years next to a recognized doctor and only after finishing this requirement they would be able to opt for the degrees of licentiate, master and doctor. In the middle of the 16th century a theoretical-practical model was imposed that included the

dissection Dissection (from Latin ' "to cut to pieces"; also called anatomization) is the dismembering of the body of a deceased animal or plant to study its anatomical structure. Autopsy is used in pathology and forensic medicine to determine the cause of ...

in corpse. Following the closing of the university by

Valentín Gómez Farías Valentín Gómez Farías (; 14 February 1781 – 5 July 1858) was a Mexican physician and liberal politician who became president of Mexico twice, first from 1833 to 1834, during the period of the First Mexican Republic, and again from 1846 ...

in 1883 the school survived in the form of several departments in charge of teaching medicine. Graduating in 1887 the first female doctor Matilde Montoya. It existed that way until 1902 when the university was reopened by

Justo Sierra Justo Sierra Méndez (January 26, 1848 – September 13, 1912), was a Mexican prominent liberal writer, historian, journalist, poet and political figure during the Porfiriato, in the second half of the nineteenth century and early twentieth ...

. The School open the door to graduate studies in 1960.

Staff and organization

The school is run by the dean, currently Germán Fajardo Dolci. The school is divided into departments, each with a head who reports to the school dean. The secretary of medical education also has several departments which are responsible for one or more subjects. *Department of Anatomy: responsible for the anatomy courses. *Department of Embryology: responsible for the embryology and clinical genetics courses. *Department of Cell and Histological Biology: responsible for the Histology course. *Department of Biochemistry: responsible for the Biochemistry and Immunology courses. *Department of Public Health: responsible for the Public Health courses. *Department of Pharmacology: responsible for the Pharmacology courses. *Department of Physiology: responsible for the Physiology courses. *Department of Surgery: responsible for the Surgery courses. *Department of Microbiology and Parasitology: responsible for the Microbiology and Parasitology courses. *Department of Biomedical Informatics: responsible for the Biomedical Informatics courses. *Department of Amphitheater: responsible of the postgraduate surgery courses and investigation on corpses.

Location & Facilities

The School is located in Ciudad Universitaria in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, near the School of Chemistry and the School of Odontology. It consists of one main complex, divided into seven buildings, built when University City was opened. The School also has annexes at several hospitals in Mexico City's metropolitan area, most notably an annex at the General Hospital of Mexico, where the Department of Experimental Medicine is located. It has one main library and several others used mostly for postgraduate studies.

Graduate Studies

It holds the Graduate program in medicine (MD) called "Titulo de Medico Cirujano" (Physician-Surgeon Diploma).

Importance

In Mexico, the School of Medicine UNAM is generally regarded as one of the most important, if not the most important of the country; it has several links with hospitals and communities, and its students are usually in communities for their

social service Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. Also available amachine-converted HTML They may be provided by individuals, private and i ...

. The school also is in charge of the National Exam of Medical Residencies (ENARM), which means that if any MD in Mexico wants to apply for a residency, they should apply to this school, it is regarded to be very hard, and students some times take a full year of study in order to pass it. Approximately 22,000 students present the exam and only 4,000 pass it every year. The school has two Howard Hughes Medical Institute Scholars and endowment from the NIH extramural research program.

Alumni

Rectors of the National Autonomous University of Mexico

* Enrique Graue Wiechers, (2015 - to date) *

José Narro Robles José Narro Robles (born December 5, 1948) is a Mexican physician, researcher, academic and politician. He is a former director of the Faculty of Medicine of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and was elected its 23rd Rector ...

(2007 - 2015) *

Juan Ramón de la Fuente Juan Ramón de la Fuente Ramírez (born 5 September 1951 in Mexico City) is a Mexican psychiatrist, academician and politician who has served as the secretary of foreign affairs since 2024 in the cabinet of Claudia Sheinbaum. He previously serve ...

(1999 - 2007) * Octavio Rivero Serrano (1981 - 1984) *

Guillermo Soberón Acevedo Guillermo Soberón Acevedo (29 December 1925 – 12 October 2020) was a Mexican politician, chemist, physician and educator. Soberón Acevedo was born in Iguala, Guerrero, in 1925. From 1973 to 1981, he was rector of the National Autonomous Univ ...

(1973 - 1981) * Ignacio Chávez Sánchez (1961 - 1966) * Salvador Zubirán Anchondo (1946 -1948)

Prominent physicians

* Carlos Fernández del Castillo, M.D. (pancreatic diseases, pancreatobiliary surgery, gastrointestinal surgery) (Massachusetts General Hospital, USA) * Manuel Isaías López, child and adolescent psychiatrist, founder of AMPI (Asociación Mexicana de Psiquiatría Infantil), Numerary Member of the Academia Mexicana de Pediatría, Secretary General of Consejo Mexicano de Psiquiatría. *

Nora Volkow Nora D. Volkow (born 27 March 1956) is a Mexican-American psychiatrist. She is currently the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), which is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Early life and education Born in Mexi ...

, psychiatrist and the Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) at the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...

. *

, biochemist and a member of El Colegio Nacional. * Ruy Pérez Tamayo, pathologist and a member of El Colegio Nacional and the

Academia Mexicana de la Lengua The Academia Mexicana de la Lengua (variously translated as the Mexican Academy of Language, the Mexican Academy of the Language, the Mexican Academy of Letters, or glossed as the Mexican Academy of the Spanish Language; acronym AML) is the cor ...

. *

Antonio Peña Díaz Antonio Peña Díaz (born in 1936) is a Mexican biochemist who received the Carlos J. Finlay Prize for Microbiology (UNESCO, 2003) and chaired both the Mexican Academy of Sciences (1992–93) and the Mexican Society of Biochemistry (1981–83). ...

, biochemist founder of the Institute of Cellular Physiology. * Daniel Velazquez Villanueva, OB-GYN. * Fernando Ortiz Monasterio, Plastic Surgeon. * Gerardo Gamba Ayala, Nephrologist, National Prize for Arts and Sciences (Mexico) 2010 . * Adam M Sonabend Worthalter, Neurosurgeon. * Alan Zajarias Rabchinskey, Interventional Cardiology. * Oscar G. Arrieta Rodriguez, Thoracic Oncology.

References

External links

Official Website (Spanish)
{{DEFAULTSORT:School of Medicine (Unam) National Autonomous University of Mexico