Wikipedia

Mary DeWitt Pettit

Mary DeWitt Pettit (January 1, 1908 – May 5, 1996) was an American physician, medical school professor, and medical researcher. She served as a physician in the United States Navy during World War II. She was a obstetrician and gynecologist on the faculty of the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania.

Mary DeWitt Pettit
A young white woman with wavy hair cut in a side-parted bob, wearing three strands of beads and a collared jacket in a plaid or striped fabric
Mary DeWitt Pettit, from the 1928 yearbook of Bryn Mawr College
BornJanuary 1, 1908
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedMay 5, 1996 (aged 88)
Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.
Occupation(s)Physician, medical researcher, medical school professor
RelativesJohn Pitkin Norton (great-grandfather)

Early life and education

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Pettit was born in Philadelphia,[1] the daughter of John Reed Pettit[2] and Elsie Norton Pettit.[3] She was descended from Connecticut governor John Treadwell, and abolitionist John Treadwell Norton.[4] Her great-grandfather, John Pitkin Norton, was a chemistry professor at Yale University.[5] She graduated from Bryn Mawr College in 1928.[6] She earned her medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1932.[7][8]

Career

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Pettit was an obstetrician and gynecologist on the faculty of Albany Medical College from 1938 to 1946, and at the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania from 1946.[7][9] She served as a physician in the United States Navy during World War II,[10] in charge of the women's branch of the hospital at the Marine depot at Parris Island.[2][8] From 1961 to 1962, she was president of the Obstetrical Society of Philadelphia.[11]

Publications

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Pettit's research was published in academic journals, including American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology,[12][13][14] Obstetrical & Gynecological Survey,[15] and Endocrinology.[16]

  • "A clinical study of acid alurate as a rectal analgesic during labor" (1938, with William A. Graham)[12]
  • "Hydatidiform mole following tubal pregnancy" (1941)[13]
  • "A review of ovarian pathology in 336 laparotomies" (1948)[17]
  • "Obstetrical Conditions Found in Older Women" (1949)
  • "Placenta accreta complicated by hemoperitoneum" (1949, with Nathan Mitchell)[14]
  • "Pelvic Infection: Present Status of Treatment" (1950)[15]
  • "Geriatric Gynecology" (1954, with Catherine B. Hess and Jane Marshall Leibfried)[18]
  • "Management of the Menopause" (1955)[19]
  • "The Influence of Ovarian Hormones on Goitrogenesis" (1961, with Bernard A. Eskin and Mary B. Dratman)[16]
  • "Hemolytic disease of the newborn due to the Good factor" (1961, with Bernard A. Eskin and Elizabeth U. Laufer)[20]
  • Gynaecologic Diagnosis and Treatment (1962)
  • "Environment in Relation to Gynecologic Disease" (1965)[21]

Personal life and legacy

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Pettit died in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1996, at the age of 88.[22] Pettit donated the Markoe Family Papers to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in 1966,[23] and her great-grandfather's papers to Yale University in 1969.[5] Drexel University awards an annual Mary Dewitt Pettit Fellowship, to support the research or special projects of junior faculty members in the College of Medicine.[24][25]

References

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  1. ^ "College Will Honor Dr. Pettit". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 1972-05-14. p. 49. Retrieved 2024-04-10 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b "The Social Way". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 1944-06-12. p. 6. Retrieved 2024-04-10 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Pettit". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 1955-02-14. p. 26. Retrieved 2024-04-10 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "John Treadwell Norton House". U.S. National Park Service. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  5. ^ a b Kuslan, Louis I. (1969). "The Founding of the Yale School of Applied Chemistry". Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences. XXIV (4): 430–451. doi:10.1093/jhmas/xxiv.4.430. ISSN 0022-5045. PMID 4908356.
  6. ^ Bryn Mawr College, The Book of 1928 (1928 yearbook): 114.
  7. ^ a b Ogilvie, Marilyn Bailey; Harvey, Joy Dorothy (2000). The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science: L-Z. Taylor & Francis. p. 1013. ISBN 978-0-415-92040-7.
  8. ^ a b "Dr. Mary De Witt Pettit Will Speak at Wilson; To Discuss 'Opportunities for Women in Medicine'". Public Opinion. 1947-11-19. p. 10. Retrieved 2024-04-10 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "3 Doctors Resign Posts at College". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 1946-06-09. p. 7. Retrieved 2024-04-10 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Medicine at War: A Digital History Project". Natalie Shibley, Ph.D. 2021-08-14. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  11. ^ "History". Obstetrical Society of Philadelphia. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  12. ^ a b Graham, William A.; DeWitt Pettit, Mary (June 1938). "A clinical study of acid alurate as a rectal analgesic during labor". American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. 35 (6): 1023–1027. doi:10.1016/s0002-9378(38)90390-4. ISSN 0002-9378.
  13. ^ a b Pettit, Mary DeWitt. "Hydatidiform mole following tubal pregnancy." American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 42, no. 6 (1941): 1057-1060.
  14. ^ a b Pettit, Mary DeWitt; Mitchell, Nathan (December 1949). "Placenta accreta complicated by hemoperitoneum". American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. 58 (6): 1201–1204. doi:10.1016/0002-9378(49)90801-7. ISSN 0002-9378. PMID 15408080.
  15. ^ a b Pettit, Mary DeWitt (August 1950). "Pelvic Infection: Present Status of Treatment". Obstetrical & Gynecological Survey. 5 (4): 614–615. doi:10.1097/00006254-195008000-00077. ISSN 0029-7828.
  16. ^ a b Eskin, Bernard A.; Dratman, Mary B.; Pettit, Mary DeWitt (August 1961). "The Influence of Ovarian Hormones on Goitrogenesis". Endocrinology. 69 (2): 195–198. doi:10.1210/endo-69-2-195. ISSN 0013-7227.
  17. ^ DeWitt Pettit, Mary (November 1948). "A review of ovarian pathology in 336 laparotomies". American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. 56 (5): 907–912. doi:10.1016/0002-9378(48)90450-5. ISSN 0002-9378. PMID 18888223.
  18. ^ Pettit, Mary Dewitt; Hess, Catherine B.; Leibfried, Jane Marshall (1954-12-01). "Geriatric Gynecology". Surgical Clinics of North America. Symposium on Obstetrics and Gynecology. 34 (6): 1627–1637. doi:10.1016/S0039-6109(16)34437-1. ISSN 0039-6109. PMID 13216564.
  19. ^ Pettit, Mary DeWitt (1955-11-01). "Management of the Menopause". Medical Clinics of North America. 39 (6): 1725–1731. doi:10.1016/S0025-7125(16)34641-7. ISSN 0025-7125.
  20. ^ Eskin, Bernard A.; Laufer, Elizabeth U.; DeWitt Pettit, Mary (May 1961). "Hemolytic disease of the newborn due to the Good factor". American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. 81 (5): 997–999. doi:10.1016/s0002-9378(15)33449-9. ISSN 0002-9378. PMID 13697362.
  21. ^ Pettit, Mary Dewitt (July 1965). "Environment in Relation to Gynecologic Disease". Archives of Environmental Health. 11 (1): 116–126. doi:10.1080/00039896.1965.10664183. ISSN 0003-9896. PMID 14312381.
  22. ^ "Mary DeWitt Pettit, MD". Archives of Environmental Health. 11 (1): 115. July 1965. doi:10.1080/00039896.1965.10664182. ISSN 0003-9896.
  23. ^ "Markoe Family Papers". Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  24. ^ Drexel University College of Medicine, Mary DeWitt Pettit Fellowship guidelines.
  25. ^ "A Better Start for Babies Is a Grant Winner – Twice!". ChesPenn Health Services. May 26, 2023. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
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