U.S. National Institutes of Health

Myrtelle May Canavan, MD — diagnostic and therapeutic services (pathology)

Courtesy The Harvard Medical Library in the Frances A. Countway Library of Medicine

Dr. Myrtelle May Canavan (1879–1953) had a long and distinguished career as a pathologist, neuropathologist, and curator of an anatomical museum. In addition to being one of the earliest woman pathologists and neuropathologists in the United States, she also identified the condition now known as “Canavan disease,” a progressive degenerative disorder of the central nervous system characterized by spongy changes in the brain.

Read more about Dr. Myrtelle May Canavan.

For more information about Canavan disease and other leukodystrophies, visit MedlinePlus.

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