Elisa Fernández de la Vega

Elisa Fernanda María del Carmen Fernández de la Vega y Lombán (3 June 1895 – 21 November 1933) was a Spanish physician and professor. She and her twin sister, Jimena Fernández de la Vega, were among the first women from Galicia to earn a degree in medicine. Elisa specialized in the treatment of respiratory diseases and aspired to become a professor at the University of Santiago. She died in 1933, at the age of 37, of a self-diagnosed atypical pneumonia.

Early life and education Elisa Fernández de la Vega was born in Vegadeo, Asturias, Spain, on june 3, 1895, together with her twin sister Jimena, to Wenceslao Fernández de la Vega Pasarín and Dolores Lombán. Her father was a physician, who practiced in Castroverde, Lugo. She and her twin sister, Jimena, were inseparable during their early years and shared a common academic path for a significant part of their lives.

Both sisters did their bachelor's degree at Instituto de Lugo between 1909 and 1913, taking all the subjects in non-official and non-collegiate education. In the following year, only three years after access to university education was granted to women in Spain, they began their medical studies at the Faculty of Medicine in University of Santiago de Compostela, where they worked with professor .

Elisa and Jimena faced many hostilities from teachers and classmates and often were escorted through corridors by concerned classmates. In one instance, they were prohibited from attending anatomy classes a professor who considered it "inappropriate for a woman to see the body of a naked man."

Following her graduation, Elisa moved to Madrid for her doctoral studies. In 1921, she completed her doctoral thesis, titled Asma anafiláctico alimenticio y consideraciones acerca de la patogenia del asma en general under the guidance of professor Teófilo Hernando. For their outstanding academic records, Elisa and Jimena were awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Alfonso XII.

Selected works