{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]],"date-time":"2026-08-20T13:27:30Z","timestamp":1787232450429,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":51,"publisher":"Wiley","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]],"date-time":"2026-08-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787184000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]],"date-time":"2026-08-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787184000000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/doi.wiley.com\/10.1002\/tdm_license_1.1"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Anatomical Sciences Ed"],"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Professor Joseph Leidy M.D. was arguably the most influential anatomist in the nineteenth\u2010century United States, having written over 500 publications and serving as the first President of the Association of American Anatomists. While many of Leidy's diverse contributions to American science and medicine are well\u2010known, scholars have said much less about the way that he supported racial science and its influence over anatomy curriculum. This article fills this gap, explaining how Leidy's immense reputation among his contemporaries and influence over his students helped legitimize racial thinking among anatomists. In order to make this case, the article rests on an evaluation of Leidy's correspondence, lecture notes, academic writing, textbooks, and the work of his students, establishing how Leidy supported the institutionalization of racial thinking. Critically, Leidy was not a trailblazer. Instead, he was deeply shaped by the political and scientific preoccupations of his time. Specifically, he was influenced by a political culture defined by the regional fracture over slavery leading to the US Civil War (1861\u20131865). Perhaps more important, the intellectual culture of the University of Pennsylvania's Medical Department, where he was educated and spent his entire teaching career, was the central node of both American medicine and the rise of racial science. Thus, this study analyzes how Leidy was shaped by this culture, the details of his scholarly development, and how he came to contribute to systemic and institutionalized racism in US anatomy and medicine still felt today.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1002\/ase.70334","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]],"date-time":"2026-08-20T12:54:55Z","timestamp":1787230495000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["A man of his time: Joseph Leidy, racial science, and American anatomy"],"prefix":"10.1002","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4057-0414","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Christopher D. E.","family":"Willoughby","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"African American and African Diaspora Studies, Department of Interdisciplinary, Gender &amp; Ethnic Studies University of Nevada, Las Vegas  Las Vegas Nevada USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_13_2_1","volume-title":"A history of American medical literature, from 1776 to the present time","author":"Gross SD","year":"1876"},{"issue":"4","key":"e_1_2_13_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"772","DOI":"10.1002\/ar.24903","article-title":"Racism, structural racism and the American Association for Anatomy: initial report from a task force","volume":"305","author":"Sumner R","year":"2023","journal-title":"Anat Rec"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_4_1","volume-title":"Joseph Leidy: the last man who knew everything","author":"Warren L","year":"1998"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_5_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.5962\/bhl.title.47116","volume-title":"An address upon the Late Joseph Leidy, M.D., LL. D., his university career","author":"Hunt W","year":"1892"},{"issue":"458","key":"e_1_2_13_6_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"274","DOI":"10.1126\/science.ns-18.458.274","article-title":"Joseph Leidy: his labors in the field of vertebrate anatomy","volume":"18","author":"Allen H","year":"1891","journal-title":"Science"},{"issue":"676","key":"e_1_2_13_7_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"812","DOI":"10.1126\/science.26.676.812","article-title":"The life and work of Joseph Leidy","volume":"26","author":"Chapman HC","year":"1907","journal-title":"Science"},{"issue":"961","key":"e_1_2_13_8_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"809","DOI":"10.1126\/science.37.961.809.b","article-title":"A tribute to Joseph Leidy","volume":"37","author":"Minot CS","year":"1913","journal-title":"Science"},{"issue":"8","key":"e_1_2_13_9_1","first-page":"819","article-title":"Physician contributions to nonmedical science: Joseph Leidy, parasitologist, paleontologist, microscopist","volume":"115","author":"Swinton WE","year":"1976","journal-title":"Can Med Assoc J"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_10_1","first-page":"3","volume-title":"The American Association of Anatomists, 1888\u20131987: essays on the history of anatomy in America and a report on the membership\u2014past and present","author":"Basmajian JV","year":"1987"},{"issue":"4","key":"e_1_2_13_11_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1019","DOI":"10.1002\/ar.24735","article-title":"The imperative for scientific societies to change the face of academia: recommendations for immediate action","volume":"5","author":"Carroll MA","year":"2022","journal-title":"Anat Rec"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_12_1","volume-title":"1839\u20101853 Account books","author":"University of Pennsylvania Department of Medicine, Department of Anatomy","year":"1847"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_13_1","unstructured":"LeidyJ.Payment Receipt dated Oct. 23 1850. Envelope 14. Notes to his Course on Anatomy at the University of Pennsylvania. Historical Medical Library. College of Physicians of Philadelphia. Philadelphia PA."},{"key":"e_1_2_13_14_1","unstructured":"Leidy J to Haldeman SS. November 3 1848. Box\u00a02. Joseph Leidy Papers. Philadelphia PA: Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University."},{"key":"e_1_2_13_15_1","first-page":"145","article-title":"Quoted in January 9th, 1849. Mr. Ashmead in the Chair","volume":"4","year":"1848","journal-title":"Proc Acad Natl Sci Phila"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_16_1","volume-title":"The Leopard's spots: scientific attitudes toward race in American, 1815\u20131859","author":"Stanton W","year":"1960"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_17_1","unstructured":"McDowJR.The Negro and the White Man. M.D. Thesis University of Pennsylvania 1855. Kislak Center for Special Collections Rare Books and Manuscripts. Van Pelt Library. University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia PA."},{"key":"e_1_2_13_18_1","unstructured":"GibsonTS.An Essay on Plurality of Origin of the Races. M. D. Thesis University of Pennsylvania 1855. Kislak Center for Special Collections Rare Books and Manuscripts. Van Pelt Library. University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia PA."},{"key":"e_1_2_13_19_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1037\/13993-000","volume-title":"The moral and intellectual diversity of races, with particular reference to their respective influence in the civil and political history of mankind. From the French of count a De Gobineau: with an analytical introduction and copious historical notes. By H. Hotz. To which is added an appendix containing a summary of the latest scientific facts bearing upon the question of Unity or plurality of species. By J. C. Nott, M.D","author":"Gobineau A","year":"1856"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_20_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1093\/oso\/9780195082609.001.0001","volume-title":"The Nazi connection: eugenics, American racism, and German National Socialism","author":"K\u00fchl S","year":"1994"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_21_1","first-page":"480","volume-title":"Reprinted in Nott J. Appendix. The Moral and Intellectual Diversity of Races, with Particular Reference to Their Respective Influence in the Civil and Political History of Mankind. From the French of Count A De Gobineau: with an Analytical Introduction and Copious Historical Notes","author":"Leidy J to Nott J. April 18, 1855","year":"1856"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_22_1","volume-title":"An elementary treatise of human anatomy","author":"Leidy J","year":"1889"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_23_1","volume-title":"Indigenous races of the earth; or, new chapters of ethnological inquiry","author":"Nott J","year":"1857"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_24_1","first-page":"xvi","volume-title":"Indigenous races of the earth; or, new chapters of ethnological inquiry","author":"Leidy J to Nott J and Gliddon GR. Reprinted in Nott J and Gliddon GR","year":"1857"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_25_1","volume-title":"Joseph Leidy Papers","author":"Darwin C to Leidy J","year":"1860"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_26_1","volume-title":"Joseph Leidy Papers","author":"Holmes FS to Leidy J","year":"1861"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_27_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.5149\/northcarolina\/9781469672120.001.0001","volume-title":"Masters of health: racial science and slavery in U.S. medical schools","author":"Willoughby CDE","year":"2022"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_28_1","volume-title":"History of the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania Scrapbooks","author":"Quoted in a newspaper clipping from the May 13, 1854 edition of the Evening Bulletin","year":"1875"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_29_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"289","DOI":"10.2307\/1005108","article-title":"Observations intended to favour the supposition that the black color (as it is called) of the negroes is derived from leprosy","volume":"4","author":"Rush B","year":"1799","journal-title":"Trans Am Philos Soc"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_30_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.12987\/9780300283082","volume-title":"Race & the Scottish enlightenment: a colonial history","author":"Andersson Burnett L","year":"2025"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_31_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"21","DOI":"10.7312\/alam20732-004","volume-title":"Ordering the human: the global spread of racial science","author":"Mitchell PW","year":"2024"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_32_1","volume-title":"The idea of race in science: Great Britain, 1800\u20131960","author":"Stepan N","year":"1982"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_33_1","volume-title":"A treatise on special and general anatomy","author":"Horner WE","year":"1826"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_34_1","volume-title":"An American aristocracy: southern planters in antebellum Philadelphia","author":"Kilbride D","year":"2006"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_35_1","volume-title":"Crania Americana; or, a comparative view of the skulls of various aboriginal nations of north and South America","author":"Morton SG","year":"1839"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_36_1","volume-title":"Catalogue of skulls of man and the inferior animals in the collection of Samuel George Morton","author":"Morton SG","year":"1849"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_37_1","volume-title":"The mismeasure of man","author":"Gould SJ","year":"1981"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_38_1","volume-title":"Crania Aegyptiaca; or observations on Egyptian ethnography, derived from anatomy, history and the monuments","author":"Morton SG","year":"1844"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_39_1","volume-title":"An illustrated system of human anatomy, special, general and microscopic","author":"Morton SG","year":"1849"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_40_1","volume-title":"An elementary treatise of human anatomy","author":"Leidy J","year":"1861"},{"issue":"5","key":"e_1_2_13_41_1","first-page":"225","article-title":"The negro\u2014a distinct species","volume":"10","author":"Forwood WS","year":"1857","journal-title":"Med Surg Rep"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_42_1","volume-title":"Joseph Leidy Papers","author":"Ellis CM to Leidy J","year":"1861"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_43_1","volume-title":"Envelope 10: The Skeletal System. Notes to his Course on Anatomy at the University of Pennsylvania","author":"Leidy J"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_44_1","volume-title":"Types of mankind: or, ethnological researches based upon the ancient monuments, paintings, sculptures, and crania of races, and upon their natural geographical, philological and biblical history","author":"Nott J","year":"1854"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_45_1","volume-title":"The black image in the white mind: the debate over afro\u2010American character and Destiny, 1817\u20131914","author":"Fredrickson GM","year":"1987"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_46_1","volume-title":"An Essay on Influences of Intermarriage over Generation","author":"Leecraft LF","year":"1858"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_47_1","volume-title":"An Essay on Difficulties Attending the Practice of Medicine in the Country at the South","author":"Lewis JB","year":"1860"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_48_1","volume-title":"Some Anatomical Peculiarities of the Negro","author":"Neill H","year":"1874"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_49_1","volume-title":"A traffic of dead bodies: anatomy and embodied social identity in nineteenth\u2010century America","author":"Sappol M","year":"2022"},{"issue":"16","key":"e_1_2_13_50_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4296","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.1516047113","article-title":"Racial bias in pain assessment and treatment recommendations, and false beliefs about biological differences between blacks and whites","volume":"113","author":"Hoffman KM","year":"2016","journal-title":"Proc Natl Acad Sci USA"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_51_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1515\/9781595586919","volume-title":"Fatal invention: how science, politics, and big business Re\u2010create race in the twenty\u2010first century","author":"Roberts D","year":"2011"},{"issue":"9","key":"e_1_2_13_52_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"874","DOI":"10.1056\/NEJMms2004740","article-title":"Hidden in plain sight\u2014reconsidering the use of race correction in clinical algorithms","volume":"383","author":"Vyas DA","year":"2020","journal-title":"N Engl J Med"}],"container-title":["Anatomical Sciences Education"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1002\/ase.70334","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/full-xml\/10.1002\/ase.70334","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1002\/ase.70334","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]],"date-time":"2026-08-20T12:55:05Z","timestamp":1787230505000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1002\/ase.70334"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]]},"references-count":51,"alternative-id":["10.1002\/ase.70334"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/ase.70334","archive":["Portico"],"relation":{},"ISSN":["1935-9772","1935-9780"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1935-9772","type":"print"},{"value":"1935-9780","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]]},"assertion":[{"value":"2026-07-02","order":0,"name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2026-07-29","order":2,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2026-08-20","order":3,"name":"published","label":"Published","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}}],"article-number":"ase.70334"}}