The University of Michigan Medical School, 1850-2000: "an example worthy of imitation".

The 150th anniversary of the University of Michigan Medical School affords occasion for both celebration and reflection, not just in Ann Arbor but throughout the world, as we consider its contributions to medical education, research, and health care over the past century and a half. This article explores the medical school's origins as a frontier medical outpost and describes the vital reforms in medical education implemented in Ann Arbor long before the landmark Flexner Report on Medical Education of 1910. It also depicts how and why the medical school developed as it did and what features are distinctive or typical about the school during this period.