Department of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine

Corporate body

Department of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine

• Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology
• MIR (Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology)
• Department of Radiology, WUSM

1927-

Washington University's medical school had x-ray equipment and rodentologist on faculty as early as the 1890s, but an independent department of radiology did formalize at the university until the 1920s. The department of radiology originated from Washington University's surgery department, largely through the efforts of thoracic surgeon Evarts Graham's experiments with cholecystography. Graham, who served as the head of the medical school's surgery department, recognized the research and clinical care potential of radiology, and personally led the effort to create a separate department for radiology in 1927.

Philanthropist Edward Mallinckrodt, Jr. endowed the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology in 1928 in honor of his father Edward Mallinckrodt, Sr. This endowment enabled the construction of the 8-story, state of the art Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology building, which was fully operational by 1931. Sherwood Moore, MD was appointed the first professor of radiology at the university, and he was among the earliest to hold such a position in the United States.

At the opening of the institute in 1931, the entire academic staff was comprised of four radiologists and a physicist. Today, the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology (MIR) is a premier radiological center, providing a full range of diagnostic, therapeutic, and related patient-care services. It is a major resource of Washington University Medical Center, supporting the educational aims of the university and hospitals through teaching programs and supporting and encouraging a variety of basic and applied research, with special emphasis on radiological science.

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