Virginia Apgar
American physician and obstetrical anesthesiologist (1909–1974) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Virginia Apgar (June 7, 1909 – August 7, 1974) was an American physician,[1][2] obstetrical anesthesiologist[3] and medical researcher,[4] best known as the inventor of the Apgar score, a way to quickly assess the health of a newborn child immediately after birth in order to combat infant mortality.[5] In 1952, she developed the 10-point Apgar score to assist physicians and nurses in assessing the status of newborns. Given at one minute and five minutes after birth, the Apgar test measures a child's breathing, skin color, reflexes,[6] motion, and heart rate. A friend said, "She probably did more than any other physician to bring the problem of birth defects out of back rooms." She was a leader in the fields of anesthesiology and teratology, and introduced obstetrical considerations to the established field of neonatology.
Virginia Apgar | |
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Born | (1909-06-07)June 7, 1909 Westfield, New Jersey, U.S. |
Died | August 7, 1974(1974-08-07) (aged 65) Manhattan, New York, U.S. |
Citizenship | American |
Education | Mount Holyoke College Columbia University Johns Hopkins University |
Occupation | Anesthesiologist |
Years active | 1937–1974 |
Known for | Inventor of the Apgar score |
Medical career | |
Profession | Doctor |
Field | Anesthesiology, teratology |
Sub-specialties | Obstetric anesthesiology |
Notable works | Is My Baby All Right? A Guide to Birth Defects, with Joan Beck |