Laura Rodríguez Dulanto

Laura Esther Rodríguez Dulanto (18 October 1872 – 6 July 1919) was the first female physician in Peru.

Biography She was born October 18, 1872, in Supe (then Chancay District, currently department of Lima), as the daughter of Marcelo Rodriguez and Cristina Dulanto. Having finished the basic studies that were available to her in her hometown, she moved with her parents to Lima. She completed her primary education and, after the arduous efforts of her parents appealing to the educational authorities, she was granted the possibility of periodic examinations before a Special Jury appointed by the Ministry of Education for the purpose of advancing her career. She thus became the first woman in Peru to enter university, in May 1892. Although another woman, the Ecuadorian Inés Guideline, also attended the school, there is no proof that she obtained any title.

She specialized in the practice of gynaecology, publishing numerous papers in this area, including papers on ovarian cysts and uterine fibroids. However, she also studied tuberculosis, presenting a paper on the subject at the Sixth Pan American Medical Congress held in 1913. She taught and practiced her trade in the Normal School for Women, the Liceo Fanning, the Convent of the Conception and of the Nazarenes. She also organized a School of Nursing, personally taking charge of dictating the course of Anatomy, Physiology and Hygiene.