[Convent of "Nuestra Señora de la Concepción": Medical-surgical care for the female population].
The monasteries in New Spain dedicated to women were the result of the ideals of conquerors and religious people, but also of the rest of the population of the large cities, mainly, Mexico City. Here the first institution of nuns was founded as the Monastery of "Nuestra Señora de la Concepción," thanks to the archbishop Juan de Zumárraga. From it, the expansion of new and different foundations was constant and, to give support and refuge to the female population in need of housing due to poverty or abandonment, were their main tasks. Inside the monasteries and behind their tall walls, all persons received spiritual and medical attention. The latter was in the hands of physicians, apothecaries and surgeon who cured all "external" disorders and, during the first years of existence of all the monasteries, they were mainly barbers. The purpose of this article is to discover who the surgeons were who served the first female monastery and this study constitutes part of a larger research study that not only studied all monasteries both for men and women, but also the large number of surgeons who lived and worked in New Spain. The number of surgeons serving in this monastery were all those that we were able to find.
Rodríguez-Sala
María Luisa
ML
Instituto de Investigaciones Sociales, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México, D.F., Mexico. rsala@servidor.unam.mx.
D002410:Catholicism; D013502:General Surgery / Q000266:history*; D049670:History, 17th Century; D049671:History, 18th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D016519:Hospitals, Religious / Q000266:history*; D008800:Mexico; D013030:Spain; D016387:Women's Health / Q000266:history*