Madras Medical College (MMC)

Madras Medical College (MMC) is a public medical college located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1835, it is one of the oldest medical colleges in India, as well as in Asia.The Government General Hospital was established on 16 November t General Hospital was established on 16 November 1647 to treat soldiers of the British East India Company.[1] Madras Medical College was established on 2 February 1835.[2][3] Mary Scharlieb graduated from Madras Medical College in 1878.[1] In 1996, when the metropolis of Madras was renamed as Chennai, the name of the college also changed to Chennai Medical College. It was later re-renamed back to the Madras Medical College since the college was known worldwide by the older name. The foundation stone for the new building of the college was laid by the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M. Karunanidhi, on 28 February 2010.[4] In January 2011, the hospital was renamed as Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital. A red-brick heritage structure known as the "Red Fort" stands to the east of the MMC buildings. Built in 1897, it has been classified as a Grade I heritage building by the Justice E. Padmanabhan Committee on heritage structures. It housed the anatomy department for several decades, which was partially moved to the new campus of the MMC at the erstwhile Central Prison campus in 2013. In December 2017, the PWD started the restoration of the heritage structure at a cost of ₹ 19.7 million. Once restored, the structure will be converted to a museum, with the ground floor showcasing the history of MMC and the first-floor showcasing specimens for comparative anatomy. Since 1857, the college has been affiliated to the University of Madras and all degrees of Health Sciences were awarded by the same until 1988 when the Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R. Medical University Act, 1987 received the assent of the president of India.[8] This affiliating university started functioning from July 1988 and is governed by the said Act. The college was declared as an independent university called the Madras Medical College and Research Institute (MMC & RI). Later the status as an independent university was withdrawn shortly afterwards and the college was affiliated back to the Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R. Medical University, dropping the suffix: "Research Institute" in 2000.