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A prolific author

Maude Abbott was also a prolific author of international renown. The medical research she conducted after completing her studies paved the way for unprecedented scientific advances. From her publications on the history of medicine to more specialized medical research topics such as congenital cardiac disease, she has left the scientific community an extensive and impressive body of literature.

Her greatest contribution is, without a doubt, the Atlas of Congenital Cardiac Disease, published in 1936.

 

Colour photograph of Maude Abbott’s Atlas. It is red with the inscription “Atlas of Congenital Cardiac Disease - Maude E. Abbott” in gold lettering. Under the title is the gold seal of the International Academy of Pathology: the name of the academy encircles images of a globe, a microscope and the lamp of learning, above the inscription “IAMM 1906”.

Atlas of Congenital Cardiac Disease by Maude Abbott

Maude Abbott published no less than 116 scientific papers over the course of her career. For Dr. Paul D. White, not only did she inspire her contemporaries, she was also a fine example of perseverance.

However, when we review Maude Abbott’s influence in the field of cardiovascular disease we find that far more important than any of her works was the vital stimulus to others. Her spirit was indefatigable. She inspired innumerable other workers throughout the world.

Photograph of page 12 of Maude Abbott’s Atlas. The top of the page reads “Plate V. Clinical Classification of Cardiac Defects. Illustrative Diagrams”. The page shows 9 figures representing different views of a heart.

Sketch of a cardiac defect in Maude Abbott’s Atlas

 

McGill University awarded Maude Abbott an honorary M.D., C.M. degree in the spring of 1910. This recognition from her alma mater came eight years before women were first accepted into the university’s medical program.

McGill University diploma. “Doctorem in Medicina” awarded to Maud Elizabeth Seymour Abbott by McGill University. The text on the diploma is in Latin. The lower left corner bears the red seal of McGill University, with several signatures to its right. The diploma is displayed in a narrow, simply decorated gold frame with a white mat.

Honorary Doctorate in Medicine awarded to Maude Abbott by McGill University, 1910

Early medical research Achievements and legacy