Hatice Açıkalın (1909 – May 13, 2003) was a Turkish female physician specialized in cardiology. She was born in 1909. She was the sister of Cevat Açıkalın, an ambassador and one of the close associates of

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish field marshal and revolutionary statesman who was the founding father of the Republic of Turkey, serving as its first President of Turkey, president from 1923 until Death an ...

(1881-1938). She worked with

hematology Hematology (American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, 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 bloo ...

Jean Pierre Soulier (1915–2003) at the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

, and achieved her specialization in

Internal medicine Internal medicine, also known as general medicine in Commonwealth nations, is a medical specialty for medical doctors focused on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases in adults. Its namesake stems from "treatment of diseases of ...

shortly before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. During the 1950s and 1960, she served as an internist at Cerrahpaşa Hospital in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. From 1974 until her retirement, she was the head of Internal medicine Clinic at Haseki Hospital. In 1963, she was among the 27 founders of Turkish Society of Cardiology () (TKD). She served as vice chairperson in the first two terms of the executive board. It was rare that an article by a Turkish physician should be published in an international high-level scientific journal before World War II and the 10–15 years following. In 1939, Acikalin published an article with two French colleagues in the ''Bulletin de l' Académie de Médecine''. Another international publication was in''“La Presse Médicale'' in 1952. Açıkalin represented the TKD at the Congress of Cardiology, which is held annually in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France, every May. Being fluent in French, she took part at the congress continuously until the age of 80. Hatice Acikalın had a brief marriage. She died at the age of 94 on May 13, 2003.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Acikalin, Hatice 1909 births University of Paris alumni Turkish internists Turkish cardiologists 2003 deaths 20th-century Turkish physicians 20th-century Turkish women physicians Turkish expatriates in France