The Struthers Gold Medal

In 1889 John Struthers retired to Edinburgh where he lived in George Square. In 1891 he established the Struthers Gold Medal and Prize to be awarded to an Aberdeen undergraduate for the best dissection of the year. The winning dissection was to be kept for posterity.

Sir Arthur Keith (1866-1955) who was born at Quarry Farm, Aberdeen, won the first Struthers prize in 1893 with a demonstration of the ligaments of man and ape. In 1888, he had received a Bachelor of Medicine Degree from the University of Aberdeen, and then traveled as a physician on a gold mining trip to Siam. There, he dissected monkeys and became interested in racial types. In 1892, he returned to Britain and studied anatomy, leading to the award of the medal. In 1894 he became a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England and received his M.D. degree from Aberdeen. He was knighted in 1921.

The monetary prize is still awarded annually by the Professor of Anatomy, but now usually for the best research dissertation rather than for a dissection. With depreciation, the award of the Gold Medal has become financially impractical.

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The photograph shows the medal awarded in 1917 to Malcolm MacLeod. It is signed by Robert W. Reid, Struthers' successor, who served as Professor of Anatomy from 1889-1925. The medal is now in the care of the University's Marischal Museum.

In 2003 the regulations for the award of the prize read:

The medal and prize are awarded annually by the Professor of Anatomy for the best dissection or preparation, or series of dissections or preparations, or for the best original research in Anatomy. The medal and prize are open to all those who are attending, or have attended, the practical anatomy class in the University. The dissections or preparations of the successful competitor are to be placed in the Anatomical Museum, and marked with his or her name. The award will be made at the end of each Winter term, and all dissections or preparations must be sent to the Anatomical Department before 1 December in each year.