Established in 1870 as the Colombo Medical School, the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Colombo,

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, is the second oldest medical school in

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;; ...

.It is considered to be the top most medical faculty in the country which requires the highest entry qualification in

GCE Advanced Level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational au ...

examination.

History

In 1839, the Governor of Ceylon J. A. Stewart Mackenzie started sending Ceylonese students to Calcutta for medical studies to the oldest medical school in South Asia - The Bengal Medical College. In the 1860s the Colonial Surgeon, Dr. James Loos was requested to report on the large depopulation of the Wanni. He recommended that medical facilities should be available throughout the island and to this end a medical school should be opened. The Colombo Medical School was thus opened in 1870 by the then Governor Sir Hercule Robinson. Dr James Loos was its first principal. Dr. E.L.Koch was the second principal in whose memory the

Koch Memorial Clock Tower Koch Memorial Clock Tower, is located on Kynsey Road, Colombo next to the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Colombo. It was built in 1881 in memory of Dr. E. L. Koch (1838–1877), the second principal of the Colombo Medical School. It st ...

, which still stands, was built in 1881. The beginnings of the medical school were modest. It was situated in the General Hospital Colombo, and had three teachers and 25 students. It offered a course of three years duration until in 1873 the course was extended to four years. Its progress was rapid. In 1880 the medical school was raised to the status of a college (renamed Ceylon Medical College) and in 1884 the course was extended to 5 years. In 1875 Mudaliyar Samson Rajapakse gifted three and a half acres of land on which the present Faculty is located. Sir

Charles Henry de Soysa Charles Henry de Soysa Dharmagunawardana Vipula Jayasuriya Karunaratna Disanayaka popularly known as Charles Henry de Soysa, Justice of the peace#Sri Lanka, JP (3 March 1836 – 29 September 1890) was a Demographics of Sri Lanka, Ceylonese entrepr ...

, Mudaliyar Susew de Soysa, Muhandiram A.Simon Fernando Wijegooneratne and Mudaliyar Vimala Gunawardana donated the buildings. These buildings are no more and the Anatomy block, built in 1913, is the oldest building now. In 1887, the Diploma of Licentiate of Medicine and Surgery (LMS) granted by the College became registrable with the

General Medical Council The General Medical Council (GMC) is a public body that maintains the official register of medical practitioners within the United Kingdom. Its chief responsibility is to "protect, promote and maintain the health and safety of the public" by ...

(GMC) of the United Kingdom. The Ceylon Medical College and the

Ceylon University College Ceylon University College was a public university college in Ceylon. Established in 1921, it was Ceylon's first attempt at university education. The college didn't award degrees under its own name but prepared students to sit the University of Lo ...

, which had been established in 1921, formed the nucleus of the

University of Ceylon The University of Ceylon was the only university in Sri Lanka (earlier Ceylon) from 1942 until 1972. It had several constituent campuses at various locations around Sri Lanka. The University of Ceylon Act No. 1 of 1972, replaced it with the Unive ...

, which came into being in 1942. The status of the Ceylon Medical College was elevated to the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Ceylon and the diploma of L.M.S. was replaced by the degree of

MBBS Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery ( la, Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae; abbreviated most commonly MBBS), is the primary medical degree awarded by medical schools in countries that follow the tradition of the United Kin ...

Until it became the Faculty of Medicine, the Medical College was administered by the Civil Medical Department and its successor the Department of Medical and Sanitary Services. Dr. W.R. Kynsey served as Principal Civil Medical Officer (PCMO) between 1875 and 1897 and contributed much towards the college in its early years. Kynsey Road, which runs between the National Hospital and the Faculty, is named after him. In 1942 the Faculty of Medicine had six Departments - Physiology, Anatomy, Pathology, Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Surgery. Departments of Public Health (Community Medicine) and Forensic Medicine were added in 1949 and 1951 respectively. At present there are 14 Departments. The Departments of Biochemistry and Pharmacology branched off from the Department of Physiology, Parasitology and Microbiology from the Department of Pathology, and Paediatrics and Psychological Medicine from the Department of Medicine. There are 5 Units in addition to these departments - the Malaria Research Unit, the Human Genetics Unit, the Molecular Biology Unit, the Medical Education Development and Research Centre (MEDARC), and the Audio-Visual Unit. From 25 students in 1870, the student number increased to about 500 in the '60s and 1533 at present. The staff strength too has increased considerably.

Current Status

The Faculty at present provides for the education and training of undergraduates in allied health sciences. The course in Pharmacy is a well established one at the faculty while that for Physiotherapy is now three years old. In addition courses ranging from medico-legal sciences to those in medical education are regularly conducted. There is also a strong ethics review committee for processing of research projects and training of staff in ethical practices. These have provided for an innovative and vibrant academic environment within the faculty. In the future the faculty is gearing itself for the rapid changes in the health and medical educational needs of the country. It has taken the steps towards using advanced technologies by forward thinking. In doing so it is our (whose?) intention to establish and strengthen Inter departmental, inter faculty, inter – university and international links. The Faculty has close links with several hospitals for teaching, training, clinical services and research. These include; *

The National Hospital of Sri Lanka The National Hospital of Sri Lanka (sometimes General Hospital) is a government hospital in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Founded in 1864 as the General Hospital, it is the leading hospital in Sri Lanka and is controlled by the central government. The hospi ...

(Colombo General Hospital) *De Soysa Maternity Hospital (DMH) *Castle Street Hospital for Women (CSHW) *

Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children The Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children is a tertiary care children's hospital in Colombo, Sri Lanka. With a bed-strength of over 900, it is now considered to be the largest children's hospital in the world. Established by public subscription in ...

*National Eye Hospital - Sri Lanka *National Cancer Institute, Maharagama *National Institute for Mental Health, Angoda

Notable alumni

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professo ...

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

Nicholas Attygalle Sir Nicholas Attygalle (14 July 1894 – 27 March 1970) was a Ceylonese academic, surgeon and a Senator. He was the President of the Senate of Ceylon from 1953 to 1960 and the first Ceylonese Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ceylon, where h ...

, KBE,

FRCS Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (FRCS) is a professional qualification to practise as a senior surgeon in Ireland or the United Kingdom. It is bestowed on an intercollegiate basis by the four Royal Colleges of Surgeons (the Royal ...

, FRCOG - former President of the

Senate of Ceylon The Senate was the upper chamber of the parliament of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1947 by the Soulbury Commission. The Senate was appointed and indirectly elected rather than directly elected. It was housed in the old Legislative Coun ...

Vice Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor ...

, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine & Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology *

Carlo Fonseka Carlo Fonseka ( si, කාලෝ ෆොන්සේකා ''Kālō Fonsēkā''; 4 March 1933 – 2 September 2019) was a Sri Lankan physician, academic and political activist. He was a former dean of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Kel ...

- former dean of the

Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya The Faculty of Medicine of the University of Kelaniya located in Ragama, is one of eleven state medical schools in Sri Lanka. It is on a 35-acre (140,000 m2) campus at Ragama, and the faculty began classes with the admission of 120 students in S ...

* I. M. R. A. Iriyagolle - former Minister of Education *

Ratnasothy Saravanamuttu Sir Ratnasothy Saravanamuttu ( ta, இரத்தினசோதி சரவணமுத்து; born October 1886) was a Ceylon Tamil physician, politician and the first Mayor of Colombo. Early life and family Saravanamuttu was born in Octo ...

- former

Mayor of Colombo The Mayor of Colombo is the Mayor (and head) of the Colombo Municipal Council. The post was created in 1866 when the Colombo Municipal Council was established by the Legislative Council of Ceylon. The Mayor is assisted by the Deputy Mayor and a ...

Sabaratnam Arulkumaran, FRCOG,

- former President of the

Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) is a professional association based in London, United Kingdom. Its members, including people with and without medical degrees, work in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology, that ...

(2007–2010) *

Sanath Lamabathusooriya, MBE - former Dean of the

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

, University of Colombo *

Sunitha Wickramasinghe, FRCP - Deputy Dean of the

Imperial College School of Medicine Imperial College School of Medicine (ICSM) is the undergraduate medical school of Imperial College London in England, and one of the United Hospitals. It is part of the college's Faculty of Medicine and was formed by the merger of several hist ...

and Professor of HaematologyProf Sunitha Wickramasinghe
/ref> *

Deshamanya Deshamanya ( si, දේශමාන්‍ය, translit=Dēshamāṉya; ta, தேசமான்ய, translit=Tēcamāṉya; Pride of the Nation) is the second-highest national honour of Sri Lanka awarded by the Government of Sri Lanka as a ...

Dr P. R. Anthonis,

- former

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of University of Colombo *

AH Sheriffdeen - pioneer in vascular and transplant surgery in Sri Lanka * Vidyajyothi

Rezvi Sheriff Vidya Jyothi Mohamed Hussain Rezvi Sheriff, FRCP (Lon), FRCPE (Edin), FRACP, FCCP, FSLCGP, FNASSL is a Sri Lankan academic, nephrologist and physician. He served as the director of the Postgraduate Institute of Medicine; senior professor of med ...

, FRCP - Professor of Medicine, University of Colombo *

Devaka Fernando Devaka Fernando is a Sri Lankan physician and academic. He was president of the Osteoporosis Society of Sri Lanka and the Founding Professor of Medicine at the University of Sri Jayawardanapura. Education Fernando was educated at Dean Row Sc ...

- Professor of Medicine, University of Sri jayawardanapura *

Ravindra fernando Ravindra Fernando is a Sri Lankan forensic pathologist, toxicologist, physician, author and academic. He is the current chairman of the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board of Sri Lanka. Biography Education Fernando was educated at Ananda Co ...

- Professor of Forensic Medicine *

Harendra de Silva Harendra de Silva is a pediatrician whose efforts have helped to create awareness of child abuse in Sri Lanka. Education de Silva was educated at Ananda College Colombo, before he entered the Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, where he ...

- Founder Chairman Child Protection Authority and Professor of Paediatrics, University of Kelaniya *

Tissa Vitarana - Former member of

Sri Lanka Parliament The Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා පාර්ලිමේන්තුව ''Shri Lanka Parlimenthuwa'', Tamil: இலங்கை நாடாளுமன்றம் ''Ila� ...

* Sudarshani Fernandopulle - Member of

*Lasantha Malawige - Founder Lassana Flora * Dayan Rajapaksa - Founder Chairman Esoft

Current Chairs and Heads of Departments and Special Units

Dean: Prof. Vajira Dissanayake ''Anatomy'' * Chair: Prof. Vajira Dissanayake * Head: Prof. Vajira Dissanayake ''Physiology'' * Chair: Vacant * Head: Dr. S. Wasalathanthri ''Biochemistry & Molecular Biology'' * Chair : Prof. Sunethra Athukorale * Head :Dr. Kithmini Sirideva ''Pathology'' * Chair: Prof. Chandu de Silva * Head: Prof. Chandu de Silva ''Pharmacology & Pharmacy'' * Chair: Prof. Laal Jayakody * Head: Prof. Priyadarshani Galapptthy ''Microbiology'' * Chair: Prof. Jennifer Perera * Head: Dr. Channa Senanayake ''Parasitology'' * Chair and Head: Prof. Nadeera Karunaweera ''Community Medicine'' * Chair: Prof. Dulitha Fernando. * Head: Dr. Wasantha Gunathunga ''Forensic Medicine & Toxicology'' * Chair: Prof. Jean Perera * Head: Dr. Asela Mendis ''Clinical Medicine'' * Chair: Prof. Saroj Jayasinghe * Head: Prof. Godwin Constantine ''Surgery'' * Chair and Head: Prof. Mandika Wijeyratne ''Paediatrics'' * Chair and Head: Prof. Manouri P. Senanayake ''Obstetrics and Gynaecology'' * Chair and Head: Prof. Harshalal Rukka Senevirathne ''Psychological Medicine'' * Chair: * Head: Prof. Raveen Hanwella ''Malaria Research Unit'' * Director: Prof. Nadeera Karunaweera ''Human Genetics Unit'' * Director: Prof. Rohan W. Jayasekera ''Medical Education and Research Centre'' * Director: Prof. Indika Karunaratne

Chairs of Study Streams

''Introductory Basic Sciences Stream'' * Chairperson: Dr. Mangala Gunathilake, Department of Physiology ''Applied Sciences Stream'' * Chairperson: Prof. Anuja Abeydeera, Department of Surgery ''Community Stream'' * Chairperson: Dr. Nalika Gunawardena, Department of Community Medicine ''Behavioural Sciences Stream'' * Chairperson: Prof. Wasantha Gunathunga, Department of Community Medicine ''Clinical Sciences Stream'' * Chairperson: Prof. Ariyaranee Gnanathasan, Department of Medicine

References

* A history of medicine in Sri Lanka - from the earliest time to 1948. Uragoda C G. 1987. Sri Lanka Medical Association. Colombo https://web.archive.org/web/20100529152253/http://www.cmb.ac.lk/academic/medicine/index.htm

External links

The Colombo Medical faculty Website

University of Colombo website

gazettes-online.co.uk
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Medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...

Colombo, University of