Which of the following associations was established in 1840 to represent the interests of physicians across the us?

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Journal Information

Started in 1946, the Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences is internationally recognized as one of the top publications in its field. The journal's coverage is broad, publishing the latest original research on the written beginnings of medicine in all its aspects. When possible and appropriate, it focuses on what practitioners of the healing arts did or taught, and how their peers, as well as patients, received and interpreted their efforts.

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Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. OUP is the world's largest university press with the widest global presence. It currently publishes more than 6,000 new publications a year, has offices in around fifty countries, and employs more than 5,500 people worldwide. It has become familiar to millions through a diverse publishing program that includes scholarly works in all academic disciplines, bibles, music, school and college textbooks, business books, dictionaries and reference books, and academic journals.

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Dentistry is one of the oldest medical professions, dating back to 7000 B.C. with the Indus Valley Civilization.  However, it wasn’t until 5000 B.C. that descriptions related to dentistry and tooth decay were available.  At the time, a Sumerian text described tooth worms as causing dental decay, an idea that wasn’t proven false until the 1700s!

In ancient Greece, Hippocrates and Aristotle wrote about dentistry, specifically about treating decaying teeth, but it wasn’t until 1530 that the first book entirely devoted to dentistry—The Little Medicinal Book for All Kinds of Diseases and Infirmities of the Teeth—was published.

By the 1700s, dentistry had become a more defined profession.  In 1723, Pierre Fauchard, a French surgeon credited as the Father of Modern Dentistry, published his influential book, The Surgeon Dentist, a Treatise on Teeth, which for the first time defined a comprehensive system for caring for and treating teeth.  Additionally, Fauchard first introduced the idea of dental fillings and the use of dental prosthesis, and he identified that acids from sugar led to tooth decay.

In 1840, the first dental college (Baltimore College of Dental Surgery) opened, establishing the need for more oversight.  In the United States, Alabama led the way by enacting the first dental practice act in 1841, and nearly 20 years later, the American Dental Association (ADA) was formed. The first university-affiliated dental institution, the Harvard University Dental School, was founded in 1867.

By 1873, Colgate had mass produced the first toothpaste, and mass-produced toothbrushes followed a few years later.

What may come as a surprise is that the first African American to earn a dental degree dates all the way back to 1869, and the first female dental assistant was employed in New Orleans in 1885. What might be most surprising of all is that most Americans did not adopt good brushing habits until after World War II, when soldiers stationed abroad brought the concept of good oral health back to the United States!

Other Fun Teeth Facts

• Hesy-Re was an Egyptian scribe who lived around 2600 B.C. and is recognized as the first dental practitioner.
• Paul Revere, famous for warning Colonial troops that the British were coming, was also trained as a dentist by America’s first dentist, John Baker.
• Edward H. Angle, who started the first school of orthodontics in 1901, created a simple classification for crooked teeth in the late 1800s, a system still in use today.
• The first dental X-ray was used in 1896.

Founding of the AMA

Founding of the AMA

An 1845 resolution to the New York Medical Association by Dr. Nathan S. Davis, calling for a national medical convention, led to the establishment of the American Medical Association (AMA) in 1847. Scientific advancement, standards for medical education, launching a program of medical ethics, improved public health — these were the goals of the AMA.

Key historical dates

Key historical dates

Since its founding in 1847 the AMA has played a crucial role in the development of medicine in the United States. Here’s a look at some key historical dates:

• 1873: AMA Judicial Council founded to deal with medical ethical and constitutional controversies.
• 1883: Journal of the American Medical Association is first published; Nathan Davis is first editor.
• 1906: AMA publishes first American Medical Directory listing over 128,000 licensed physicians in the U.S. and Canada.
• 1910: The Flexner Report, Medical Education in the United States and Canada, funded by the Carnegie Foundation and supported by the AMA, is published and facilitates new standards for medical schools
• 1927: AMA Council on Medical Education and Hospitals publishes first list of hospitals approved for residency training.
• 1943:  AMA opens an office in Washington, D.C
• 1950: AMA Education and Research Foundation established to help medical schools meet expenses and to help medical students.
• 1966: AMA publishes first edition of the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT), a system of standardized terms for medical procedures used to facilitate documentation.
• 1967: The United States Adopted Names (USAN) Council is established to determine nonproprietary designations for chemical compounds.
• 1990: AMA Fellowship Residency Electronic Interactive Data Access System (FREIDA) describing residency programs in the United States is available in electronic form.
• 2008: Ronald M. Davis, MD, then the AMA's immediate past president, apologizes for more than a century of AMA policies that excluded African-Americans from the AMA and that also barred them from some state and local medical societies.

Key ways AMA has invested in patients

Key ways AMA has invested in patients

For more than 160 years the AMA has worked to create a healthier future for patients, including being at the forefront of advocating against racial and ethnic disparities in health care. Other notable ways the AMA has put patients first include:

• 1849: AMA establishes a board to analyze quack remedies and nostrums and to enlighten the public in regard to the nature and danger of such remedies. The Department of Investigation (1913-1975) gathered and disseminated health fraud and quackery information for the public for over 60 years
• 1905: AMA establishes a council to set standards for drug manufacturing and advertising
• 1923: AMA promotes periodic examination of healthy persons
• 1961: AMA recommends a nationwide vaccination using the Sabin oral vaccine against polio.
• 1972: AMA launches war on smoking, urging the government to reduce and control the use of tobacco products and supporting legislation prohibiting the disbursement of tobacco samples.
• 1973: AMA urges physicians to cooperate in a national program to combat hypertension.
• 1986: AMA passes resolution opposing acts of discrimination against AIDS patients and any legislation that would lead to such categorical discrimination or that would affect patient-physician confidentiality.
• 1996: AMA launches a crusade against health plan "gag clauses," resulting in these restrictive provisions being dropped by 5 leading managed care providers and laws prohibiting gag clauses in 16 states.
• 1997: AMA launches the National Patient Safety Foundation to help ensure that all patients in all health care settings receive health care services safely.
• 2005: AMA spearheads effort with 129 other health care and patient groups, which results in the passage and signing of the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act.

AMA Historical Archives

AMA Historical Archives

Members of the American Medical Association have access to the AMA Archives as one of the many benefits of AMA membership. The Archives preserve documents, photographs, films, books, memorabilia and artifacts. Members have access to more than 90 historical collections for research, and pay no use fees and no fees to photocopy small numbers of archival materials.

The only AMA Archive collection that is open to collegiate and historical researchers from the public is the Historical Health Fraud and Alternative Medicine.

For more information about accessing the Historical Health Fraud and Alternative Medicine Collection please email the AMA Archives office at arc[email protected]

AMA Digital Collection

AMA Digital Collection

A significant number of the AMA archives can also be found in the Digital Collection of Historical AMA Documents. This digital resource offers a comprehensive overview of AMA's history and activities, and provides a tool to trace past actions, policies, reports, speeches and more.

The records in the digital collections represent historical AMA positions, and may not reflect current policy.