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Registre du Comite Medical de la Nouvelle Orleans.

April 29, 1816 - August 14,1854

Title Page of the Registre du Comite Medical de la Nouvelle Orleans, Partial Image.

The Rudolph Matas Library of Tulane University holds the original manuscript of the Registre du Comite Medical de la Nouvelle Orleans in the History Collection of the Library. Images of all the text and index of the manuscript are mounted on the WWW. A microfilm of the document is also available in the Medical Library, along with a bound reproduction of the entire document produced from the microfilm. Contact the Medical Library for further information.


Links to Images of the Registre du Comite Medical de la Nouvelle Orleans

The Renaissance of Medical History on the Web: Images and Archives the process of digitizing the Registre and making its content available on the Web.


A Review of Licensing Provisions in Louisiana, and the Significance of the Registre du Comite Medical de la Nouvelle Orleans. Postell, William D., Sr. Typescript. Tulane Medical Library History Collection. No date.

Louisiana has consistently exercised more control over the practice of medicine than the Eastern seaboard states. During the Colonial period there were laws regulating the practice of medicine which were far in advance of their times. Between 1803 to 1812 the Territorial legislature enacted laws governing the practice of medicine and pharmacy, and these laws were surprisingly progressive. In 1816-17 the State revised the medical legislation establishing two medical licensing boards, one for the Eastern and Western districts of the State. Until 1852 these laws with some modification remained in effect. The 1816 measure provided both fines and imprisonment for anyone practicing medicine without a license. This law provided some check on the rise of quackery.

The 1816 law established a medical licensing board consisting of four physicians and one apothecary in New Orleans. Its first activity was to record it activities faithfully for 36 years of its existence. It also acted as a State Board of Health. This record was known as the Registre du Comite Medical de la Nouvelle Orleans, and this record is held in the Rudolph Matas Library of Tulane University.

In 1817 a second examining board was established known as the Western district. It was designated to hold meetings in Opelousas and Alexandria. The Eastern district was renamed, and its membership increased to six. In 1820 a law was enacted by declaring anyone with a regular medical degree could obtain a license without examination. The Western district was less effective, but the results of their meeting were recorded in the Notarial records at the Parish Court House where it met.

For additional information consult:
Duffy, John. (1958) The Regulation of Medicine and Pharmacy in Louisiana, In The Rudolph Matas History of Medicine in Louisiana, Baton Rouge : Louisiana State University Press, v.II., p. 103-121.

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