Editing Virginia Apgar

{{Short description|American physician and obstetrical anesthesiologist (1909–1974)}}

{{Infobox medical person
| name = Virginia Apgar
| image = Virginia-Apgar-July-6-1959.jpg
| image_size=
| alt = Photograph of Dr. Virginia Apgar
| caption = Virginia Apgar (July 6, 1959)
| birth_name = <!-- only use if different from name above -->
| birth_date = {{birth date|1909|6|7}}
| birth_place = [[Westfield, New Jersey]], U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1974|8|7|1909|6|7|mf=y}}
| death_place = [[Manhattan]], New York, U.S.
| education =[[Mount Holyoke College]]<br>[[Columbia University]]<br>[[Johns Hopkins University]]
| occupation = [[Anesthesiologist]]
| years_active = 1937–1974
| known_for = Inventor of the [[Apgar score]]
| relations =
| website =
| profession = [[Physician|Doctor]]
| field = [[Anesthesiology]], [[teratology]]
| work_institutions =
| specialism = [[Obstetric anesthesiology]]
| notable_works = ''Is My Baby All Right? A Guide to Birth Defects'', with Joan Beck
| prizes =
| child =
| module2 =
| signature =
}}
'''Virginia Apgar''' (June 7, 1909{{spaced ndash}}August 7, 1974) was an American [[physician]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Virginia-Apgar|title=Virginia Apgar|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica official website|website=britannica.com|access-date=February 2, 2021}}</ref><ref>Croucher, John S. "Virginia Apgar". ''Women in Science: 100 Inspirational Lives''. Gloucester UK: Amberley Publications 2019, 24-26.</ref> [[obstetrics|obstetrical]] [[anesthesiologist]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.medicalnewsbulletin.com/today-medical-history-june-7-2016/|title=Today In Medical History – June 7, 2016|date=June 7, 2016|work=Medical News Bulletin |access-date=February 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612145003/https://www.medicalnewsbulletin.com/today-medical-history-june-7-2016/|archive-date= June 12, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> and medical researcher,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2016/03/07/tech/gallery/women-in-science/index.html|publisher=CNN official website|title=These are the most important women in the history of science|author=Esra Gurkan|website=CNN.com|date=March 8, 2016|access-date=February 2, 2021}}</ref> best known as the inventor of the [[Apgar score]], a way to quickly assess the health of a newborn child immediately after birth in order to combat [[infant mortality]].<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://time.com/5304372/google-doodle-virginia-apgar/ |title=Google Doodle Honors Dr. Virginia Apgar, the Anesthesiologist Credited With Saving Many Newborn Babies' Lives|publisher=The Time magazine official website|author=Mahita Gajanan|date=June 7, 2018|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|access-date=February 2, 2021}}</ref> In 1952, she developed the 10-point Apgar score to assist physicians and nurses in assessing the status of newborns. Given at one minute and five minutes after birth, the Apgar test measures a child's breathing, skin color, reflexes,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Reflexes |url=https://www.physio-pedia.com/Reflexes |access-date=2022-04-20 |website=Physiopedia |language=en}}</ref> motion, and heart rate. A friend said, "She probably did more than any other physician to bring the problem of birth defects out of back rooms." She was a leader in the fields of [[anesthesiology]] and [[teratology]], and introduced obstetrical considerations to the established field of [[neonatology]].

== Early life and education ==

The youngest of three children, Apgar was born and raised in [[Westfield, New Jersey]], the daughter of Helen May (Clarke) and [[Charles E. Apgar|Charles Emory Apgar]].<ref name=":0">{{cite journal|last=Calmes|first=Selma H|date=May 2015|title=Dr. Virginia Apgar and the Apgar Score: How the Apgar Score Came to Be|journal=Anesthesia & Analgesia|volume=120|issue=5|pages=1060–4|doi=10.1213/ANE.0000000000000659|pmid=25899273|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/notableamericanw00sich | url-access=registration | page=27 |title = Notable American Women: The Modern Period : A Biographical Dictionary| publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn = 9780674627338|last1 = Sicherman|first1 = Barbara|last2 = Green|first2 = Carol Hurd|year = 1980}}</ref> Her father was a business executive and amateur astronomer whose [[amateur radio]] work exposed an espionage ring during World War I.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!-- Staff writer(s); no by-line. --> |title=Charles E. Apgar, Radio Expert, 86; Jersey 'Ham' Operator Dies – Recorded Code Messages From Sayville Station in 1915 |work=New York Times |date=August 19, 1950 |page=12 |quote=Charles E. Apgar, a 'ham' radio operator who recorded code messages during World War I from a German station at Sayville, L.I., which proved to be tips to German submarines on the movements of neutral ships and caused the Government to seize the station...}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite web|url=https://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/ps/retrieve/Narrative/CP/p-nid/178|title=The Virginia Apgar Papers|date=September 21, 2017|website=U.S. National Library of Medicine: National Institutes of Health|access-date=April 24, 2018}}</ref> Her older brother died early from [[tuberculosis]], and her other brother had a chronic illness.<ref name=":2" /> She graduated from [[Westfield High School (New Jersey)|Westfield High School]] in 1925, knowing that she wanted to be a doctor from a young age.<ref name="papers">{{cite web|url = https://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/CP/Views/Exhibit/narrative/biographical.html|title = The Virginia Apgar Papers: biographical information|access-date = May 17, 2014|website = Profiles in Science|publisher = National Library of Medicine}}</ref>

[[File:Virginia Apgar playing her violin.jpg|thumb|150px|left|Virginia Apgar standing in a field and playing the violin in 1920]]
Apgar graduated from [[Mount Holyoke College]] in 1929, where she studied zoology with minors in physiology and chemistry.<ref name="amschler">{{Cite book|last=Amschler|first=Denise|title=Women in World History: A biographical encyclopedia|title-link=Women in World History|publisher=Gale|year=1999|isbn=0-7876-4071-9|editor-last=Commire|editor-first=Anne|pages=415–418|chapter=Apgar, Virginia (1909-1974)}}</ref> In 1933, she graduated fourth in her class from [[Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons]] (P&S)<ref name=":2">{{cite web|url=https://cfmedicine.nlm.nih.gov/physicians/biography_12.html|title=Changing the Face of Medicine: Virginia Apgar|date=June 3, 2015|website=U.S. National Library of Medicine|access-date=April 24, 2018}}</ref> and completed a residency in surgery at P&S in 1937.

She was discouraged by [[Allen Whipple]], the chairman of surgery at [[NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital|Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center]], from continuing her career as a surgeon because he had seen many women attempt to be successful surgeons and ultimately fail. He instead encouraged her to practice anesthesiology because he felt that advancements in anesthesia were needed to further advance surgery and felt that she had the "energy and ability" to make a significant contribution.<ref name=":2" /> Deciding to continue her career in anesthesiology, she trained for six months under [[Ralph M. Waters|Ralph Waters]] at the [[University of Wisconsin–Madison]], where he had established the first anesthesiology department in the United States.<ref name=":2" /> In a 1937 photograph of Waters and his residents, she is the only woman among Waters and fifteen other men. She then studied for a further six months under [[Emery Andrew Rovenstine|Emery Rovenstine]] in New York at [[Bellevue Hospital]].<ref name=":2" /> She received a certification as an anesthesiologist in 1937,<ref name="amschler" /> and returned to P&S in 1938 as director of the newly formed division of anesthesia.<ref name="changingface">{{cite web|url = https://www.nlm.nih.gov/changingthefaceofmedicine/physicians/biography_12.html|title = Dr. Virginia Apgar|access-date = May 23, 2014|website = Changing the Face of Medicine|publisher = National Library of Medicine}}</ref> She later received a master's degree in [[Master of Public Health|public health]] at [[Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health]], graduating in 1959.<ref name=":2" />

== Work and research ==

Apgar was the first woman to head a specialty division at [[Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center]] (now [[NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital]]) and [[Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons]]. In conjunction with [[Allen Whipple]], she started P&S's anesthesia division. She was placed in charge of the division's administrative duties and was also tasked with co-ordinating the staffing of the division and its work throughout the hospital. Throughout much of the 1940s, she was an administrator, teacher, recruiter, coordinator and practicing physician.<ref name=":1" />
[[File:Virginia Apgar.jpg|thumb|right|260px|Virginia Apgar examining a [[Infant|newborn baby]] in 1966|alt=Dr. Virginia Apgar, standing, facing right, examining baby with stethoscope.]]
It was often difficult to find residents for the program, as advances in the medical field had only recently elevated the practice of anesthesia to anesthesiology, a fully-fledged medical specialty. New anesthesiologists also faced scrutiny from other physicians, specifically surgeons, who were not used to having an anesthesia-specialized {{abbr|MD|Doctor of Medicine}} in the operating room. These difficulties led to issues in gaining funding and support for the division. With America's entrance into [[World War II]] in 1941, many medical professionals enlisted in the military to help the war effort, which created a serious staffing problem for domestic hospitals, Apgar's division included.<ref name=":1" />

When the war ended in 1945, interest in anesthesiology was renewed in returning physicians, and the staffing problem for Apgar's division was quickly resolved. The specialty's growing popularity and Apgar's development of its residency program prompted P&S to establish it as an official department in 1949. Due to her lack of research (because of her focus on clinical work), Apgar was not made the head of the department as was expected and the job was given to her colleague, [[Emanuel Papper|Emmanuel Papper]]. Apgar was given a faculty position at P&S.<ref name=":1" />

=== Obstetrics ===

In 1949, Apgar became the first woman to become a [[full professor]] at P&S,<ref>[http://www.mtholyoke.edu/lits/library/changingthefaceofmedicine/connection.shtml MHC Connections : Women in Medicine at Mount Holyoke] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060901204109/http://www.mtholyoke.edu/lits/library/changingthefaceofmedicine/connection.shtml |date=September 1, 2006 }}</ref> where she remained until 1959.<ref name="amschler" /> During this time, she also did clinical and research work at the affiliated [[Sloane Hospital for Women]], still a division of [[NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital]].<ref>[http://cumc.columbia.edu/dept/obgyn/about/history.html Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517071324/http://www.cumc.columbia.edu/dept/obgyn/about/history.html |date=May 17, 2008 }}</ref> In 1953, she introduced the first test, called the [[Apgar score]], to assess the health of newborn babies.

Between the 1930s and the 1950s, the United States [[infant mortality rate]] decreased, but the number of infant deaths within the first 24 hours after birth remained constant. Apgar noticed this trend and began to investigate methods for decreasing the infant mortality rate specifically within the first 24 hours of the infant's life. As an obstetric anesthesiologist, Apgar was able to document trends that could distinguish healthy infants from infants in trouble.<ref name=":1" />

This investigation led to a standardized scoring system used to assess a newborn's health after birth, with the result referred to as the newborn's "[[Apgar score]]". Each newborn is given a score of 0, 1 or 2 (a score of 2 meaning the newborn is in optimal condition, 0 being in distress) in each of the following categories: heart rate, respiration, color, muscle tone and reflex irritability. Compiled scores for each newborn can range between 0 and 10, with 10 being the best possible condition for a newborn. The scores were to be given to a newborn one minute after birth, and additional scores could be given in five-minute increments to guide treatment if the newborn's condition did not sufficiently improve. By the 1960s, many hospitals in the United States were using the Apgar score consistently.<ref name=":1" /> In the 21st century, the score continues to be used to provide an accepted and convenient method for reporting the status of the newborn infant immediately after birth .<ref name=":16">{{cite journal|pmc=2943160|title=Association of Apgar scores with death and neurologic disability|journal=Clinical Epidemiology|volume=1|pages=45–53|year=2009|last1=Ehrenstein|first1=V.|pmid=20865086|doi=10.2147/CLEP.S4782 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

In 1959, Apgar left Columbia and earned a [[Professional degrees of public health|Master of Public Health]] degree from the [[Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health|Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health]].<ref name="amschler" /> From 1959 until her death in 1974, Apgar worked for the [[March of Dimes]] Foundation, serving as vice president for medical affairs and directing its research program to prevent and treat [[Congenital disorder|birth defects]].<ref name="Dezen2011" />

As [[Gestational age (obstetrics)|gestational age]] is directly related to an infant's Apgar score, Apgar was one of the first at the March of Dimes to bring attention to the problem of [[Preterm birth|premature birth]], now one of the March of Dimes' top priorities.<ref name="Dezen2011" /> During this time, she wrote and lectured extensively, writing articles in popular magazines as well as research work.<ref name="amschler" /> In 1967, Apgar became vice president and director of basic research at The National Foundation-March of Dimes.<ref name="amschler" />

During the [[rubella]] [[pandemic]] of 1964–65, Apgar became an advocate for universal [[vaccination]] to prevent [[vertical transmission|mother-to-child transmission]] of rubella.<ref name="Dezen2011">{{cite press release|url=http://www.marchofdimes.org/news/march-of-dimes-honors-100th-anniversary-of-virginia-apgar.aspx|title=March of Dimes Honors 100th Anniversary Of Virginia Apgar|date=June 24, 2009 |publisher=March of Dimes Foundation|location=White Plains, New York}}</ref> Rubella can cause serious congenital disorders if a woman becomes infected while pregnant. Between 1964 and 1965, the United States had an estimated 12.5 million rubella cases, which led to 11,000 [[miscarriage]]s or [[therapeutic abortion]]s and 20,000 cases of [[congenital rubella syndrome]]. These led to 2,100 deaths in infancy, 12,000 cases of [[Sensorineural hearing loss|deafness]], 3,580 cases of blindness due to [[cataract]]s and/or [[microphthalmia]] and 1,800 cases of [[Mental retardation|intellectual disability]]. In New York City alone, congenital rubella affected 1% of all babies born at that time.<ref name="EPI1998">{{cite journal|author=Pan American Health Organization|author-link=Pan American Health Organization|title=Public Health Burden of Rubella and CRS|journal=EPI Newsletter|volume=XX|issue=4|year=1998|url=http://www.ops-oms.org/english/ad/fch/im/nlrubella_PublicHealthBurdenRubellaCRS_Aug1998.pdf|access-date=May 15, 2011|archive-date=July 19, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719123000/http://www.ops-oms.org/english/ad/fch/im/nlrubella_PublicHealthBurdenRubellaCRS_Aug1998.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Apgar also promoted effective use of [[Rh blood group system|Rh testing]], which can identify women who are at risk for transmission of maternal [[Antibody|antibodies]] across the [[placenta]] where they may subsequently bind with and destroy [[fetus|fetal]] [[red blood cell]]s, resulting in [[Hydrops fetalis|fetal hydrops]] or even [[miscarriage]].<ref name="Dezen2011" />

Apgar traveled thousands of miles each year to speak to widely varied audiences about the importance of early detection of birth defects and the need for more research in this area. She proved an excellent ambassador for the National Foundation, and the annual income of that organization more than doubled during her tenure there. She also served the National Foundation as Director of Basic Medical Research (1967–1968) and vice-president for Medical Affairs (1971–1974). Her concerns for the welfare of children and families were combined with her talent for teaching in the 1972 book ''Is My Baby All Right?'', written with Joan Beck.{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}}

[[File:Virginia Apgar on the President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Virginia Apgar on the President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped (November 28, 1973)]]
Apgar was also a lecturer (1965–1971) and then clinical professor (1971–1974) of pediatrics at Cornell University School of Medicine, where she taught teratology (the study of birth defects). She was the first to hold a faculty position in this new area of pediatrics. In 1973, she was appointed a lecturer in medical genetics at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.<ref name=":1" />

Apgar published over sixty scientific articles and numerous shorter essays for newspapers and magazines during her career, along with her book, ''Is My Baby All Right?''. She received many awards, including honorary doctorates from the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania (1964) and Mount Holyoke College (1965), the Elizabeth Blackwell Award from the American Medical Women's Association (1966), the Distinguished Service Award from the American Society of Anesthesiologists (1966), the Alumni Gold Medal for Distinguished Achievement from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (1973) and the Ralph M. Waters Award from the American Society of Anesthesiologists (1973). In 1973 she was also elected Woman of the Year in Science by the ''[[Ladies Home Journal]]''.

Apgar was equally at home speaking to teens as she was to the movers and shakers of society. She spoke at March of Dimes Youth Conferences about teen pregnancy and congenital disorders at a time when these topics were considered taboo.<ref name="Dezen2011" />

== Personal life ==

[[File:An expert on the violin, Dr. Apgar examines an instrument fashioned from an old telephone shelf. LCCN2002712241.jpg|thumb|left|210px|Virginia Apgar with self-made violin (60s)]]
Throughout her career, Apgar maintained that "women are liberated from the time they leave the womb" and that being female had not imposed significant limitations on her medical career. She avoided women's organizations and causes, for the most part. Though she sometimes privately expressed her frustration with sex inequalities (especially in the matter of salaries), she worked around these by consistently pushing into new fields where there was room to exercise her considerable energy and abilities.<ref name=":1" />

Music was an integral part of family life, with frequent family music sessions.<ref name=":0" /> Apgar played the violin and her brother played piano and organ.<ref name=":0" /> She traveled with her violin, often playing in amateur chamber [[quartets]] wherever she happened to be. During the 1950s, a friend introduced her to instrument-making, and together they made two violins, a viola and a cello. She was an enthusiastic gardener and enjoyed fly-fishing, golfing and stamp collecting. In her fifties, Apgar started taking flying lessons, stating that her goal was to someday fly under New York's [[George Washington Bridge]].<ref name=":1" />

=== Death ===

Apgar never married or had children and died of [[cirrhosis]]<ref>{{Cite book|title=A Biographical Dictionary of Women Healers |last1=Scrivener |first1=Laurie |last2=Barnes|first2=J. Suzanne|publisher=Oryx Press|year=2002|isbn=978-1-57356-219-5|location=Westport, CT|pages=6–7}}</ref> on August 7, 1974, at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center. She is buried at [[Fairview Cemetery (Westfield, New Jersey)|Fairview Cemetery]] in Westfield.

== Legacy ==

Apgar has continued to earn posthumous recognition for her contributions and achievements. In 1994, she was honored by the [[United States Postal Service]] with a 20¢ [[Great Americans series]] [[postage stamp]]. In November 1995, she was inducted into the [[National Women's Hall of Fame]] in [[Seneca Falls (town), New York|Seneca Falls]], New York. In 1999, she was designated a [[Women's History Month]] Honoree by the [[National Women's History Project]].<ref name="WHM">{{cite web | year=2010 | title=Honorees: 2010 National Women's History Month | work=Women's History Month | publisher=[[National Women's History Project]] | url=http://nwhp.org/whm/honorees.php | access-date=14 November 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110624015034/http://www.nwhp.org/whm/honorees.php | archive-date=24 June 2011 | url-status=dead }}</ref> On June 7, 2018, Google celebrated Apgar's 109th birthday with a [[Google Doodle]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://doodles.google/doodle/dr-virginia-apgars-109th-birthday/ |title=Dr. Virginia Apgar's 109th Birthday |date=June 7, 2018 |access-date=June 7, 2018}}
- Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/RLnGi9n3gSA Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20180609021350/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLnGi9n3gSA Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLnGi9n3gSA |title=Dr. Virginia Apgar Google Doodle |date=6 June 2018 |via=YouTube |access-date=June 7, 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

== Honors and awards ==

* Honorary doctorate, [[Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania]] (1964)
* Honorary doctorate, [[Mount Holyoke College]] (1965)
* Distinguished Service Award from the [[American Society of Anesthesiologists]] (1966)
* [[Elizabeth Blackwell Award]], from the American Women's Medical Association (1966)
* Honorary doctorate, New Jersey College of Medicine and Dentistry (1967)
* Alumni Gold Medal for Distinguished Achievement, [[Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons]] (1973)
* Ralph M. Waters Award, American Society of Anesthesiologists (1973)
* Woman of the Year in Science, ''[[Ladies Home Journal]]'' (1973)
* Fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine, the American Public Health Association, and the New York Academy of Sciences.<ref name="amschler" />
* Inductee into the [[New Jersey Hall of Fame]] (2020)

== Selected works ==

* {{cite book |last1=Apgar |first1=Virginia |last2=Beck |first2=Joan Wagner |title=Is my baby all right? A guide to birth defect|year=1972 |location=New York |publisher=Trident Press |isbn=9780671270957 |oclc=578207}}
* {{cite journal |last=Apgar |first=Virginia |url=http://apgar.net/virginia/Apgar_Paper.html |title=A proposal for a new method of evaluation of the newborn infant |journal=Current Researches in Anesthesia & Analgesia |year=1953 |volume=32 |issue=4 |pages=260–267 |pmid=13083014 |access-date=November 7, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121130123020/http://apgar.net/virginia/Apgar_Paper.html |archive-date=November 30, 2012 |url-status=unfit}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
==Further reading==
*Gerl, Ellen. " 'Out of the Back Rooms' Physician-publicist Virginia Apgar Makes Birth Defects a Popular Cause." ''Journalism History'' 42.3 (2016): 122-129 [http://www.ellengerl.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Gerl_JH_October2016_Apgar.pdf online]
* Rogers, Naomi. "Polio can be conquered: Science and health propaganda in the United States from polio polly to Jonas Salk." in ''Silent Victories: The History and Practice of Public Health in Twentieth-Century America'' (2006): 81-101. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Silent_Victories/5SDkvRBkQXAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq="+Polio+can+be+conquered"&pg=PA81&

* {{cite journal |author=Pearce, JM |title=Virginia Apgar (1909–1974): neurological evaluation of the newborn infant |journal=European Neurology |volume=54 |issue=3 |pages=132–34 |year=2005 |pmid=16244485 |doi=10.1159/000089084|doi-access=free }}
* {{cite journal |author=Goodwin, JW |title=A personal recollection of Virginia Apgar |journal=Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Canada |volume=24 |issue=3 |pages=248–49 |date=March 2002 |pmid=12585247|doi=10.1016/S1701-2163(16)30226-2 }}
* {{cite journal |vauthors=Goldman R, Blickstein I |language=he |journal=Harefuah |volume=140 |issue=2 |pages=177–78 |date=February 2001 |pmid=11242930 |title=Dr. Virginia Apgar – 1909–1974}}
* {{cite journal |author=Mazana Casanova, JS |trans-title=Virginia Apgar and her postnatal test half a century later |language=es |journal=Anales Españoles de Pediatría |volume=53 |issue=5 |page=469 |date=November 11, 2000 |title=Virginia Apgar y su test posnatal medio siglo después |url=http://www.elsevier.es/revistas/ctl_servlet?_f=7012&articuloid=12405 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130106225537/http://www.elsevier.es/revistas/ctl_servlet?_f=7012&articuloid=12405 |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 January 2013 |doi=10.1016/S1695-4033(00)78630-9 |pmid=11141369 |url-access=subscription }}
* {{cite journal |author=Baskett, TF |title=Virginia Apgar and the newborn Apgar score |journal=Resuscitation |volume=47 |issue=3 |pages=215–17 |date=November 2000 |pmid=11114450 |doi=10.1016/S0300-9572(00)00340-3}}
* {{cite journal |author=Jay, V |title=On a historical note: Dr. Virginia Apgar |journal=Pediatric and Developmental Pathology |volume=2 |issue=3 |pages=292–94 |year=1999 |pmid=10191354 |doi=10.1007/s100249900126|s2cid=35491677 }}
* {{cite book|last1=Proffitt|first1=Pamela|title=Notable women scientists|date=1999|publisher=Gale Group|location=Detroit, Mich.|isbn=978-0787639006|url=https://archive.org/details/notablewomenscie00pame |oclc=603291357}}{{Page needed|date=June 2018}}
* {{cite journal |author=Morishima, HO |title=Virginia Apgar (1909–1974) |journal=The Journal of Pediatrics |volume=129 |issue=5 |pages=768–70 |date=November 1996 |pmid=8917248 |doi=10.1016/S0022-3476(96)70170-1|doi-access=free }}
* {{cite journal |vauthors=Shampo MA, Kyle RA |title=Virginia Apgar – the Apgar score |journal=Mayo Clinic Proceedings |volume=70 |issue=7 |page=680 |date=July 1995 |pmid=7791393 |doi=10.4065/70.7.680}}
* {{cite journal |author=Butterfield, LJ |title=Virginia Apgar, MD, MPhH |journal=Neonatal Network |volume=13 |issue=6 |pages=81–83 |date=September 1994 |pmid=7854290}}
* {{cite journal |author=Butterfield, LJ |title=Virginia Apgar, MD, MPhH (1909–1974) |journal=Journal of Perinatology |volume=14 |issue=4 |page=310 |year=1994 |pmid=7965228}}
* {{cite journal |author=Ignatius, J  |language=fi |journal=Duodecim |volume=109 |issue=1 |pages=54–55 |year=1993 |pmid=8013307 |title=Virginia Apgar 1909–1974}}
* {{cite journal |author=Appelgren, L |language=sv |journal=[[Läkartidningen]] |volume=88 |issue=14 |pages=1304–06 |date=April 1991 |pmid=2016983 |title=The woman behind the Apgar score. Virginia Apgar. The woman behind the scoring system for quality control of the newborn}}
* {{cite journal |author=Wilhelmson-Lindell, B |language=sv |journal=[[Läkartidningen]] |volume=87 |issue=40 |pages=3198–200 |date=October 1990 |pmid=2232990 |title=Virginia Apgar Award to Petter Karlberg. After 45 years of pioneering commission as a pediatrician, the research on body-soul-environment is tempting}}
* {{cite journal |author=Kovács, J |language=hu |journal=Orvosi Hetilap |volume=130 |issue=38 |pages=2049–50 |date=September 1989 |pmid=2677904 |title=In commemoration of Virginia Apgar}}
* {{cite journal |author=Calmes, SH |title=Virginia Apgar: a woman physician's career in a developing specialty |journal=Journal of the American Medical Women's Association |volume=39 |issue=6 |pages=184–88 |year=1984 |pmid=6392395}}
* {{cite journal |vauthors=Schoenberg DG, Schoenberg BS |title=Eponym: yes, Virginia, there is an Apgar score |journal=Southern Medical Journal |volume=70 |issue=1 |page=101 |date=January 1977 |pmid=320667 |doi=10.1097/00007611-197701000-00046}}
* {{cite journal |vauthors=Frey R, Bendixen H |language=de |journal=Der Anaesthesist |volume=26 |issue=1 |page=45 |date=January 1977 |pmid=319701 |title=In memoriam Virginia Apgar 1909–1974}}
* {{cite journal |author=James, LS |title=Dedication to Virginia Apgar, MD |journal=Birth Defects Original Article Series |volume=12 |issue=5 |pages=xx–xxi |year=1976 |pmid=782603}}
* {{cite journal |author=James, LS |title=Fond memories of Virginia Apgar |journal=Pediatrics |volume=55 |issue=1 |pages=1–4 |date=January 1975 |doi=10.1542/peds.55.1.1 |pmid=1089236|s2cid=28483707 }}
* {{cite journal |author=James, LW |title=Memories of Virginia Apgar |journal=Teratology |volume=10 |issue=3 |pages=213–15 |date=December 1974 |pmid=4617325 |doi=10.1002/tera.1420100302}}
* {{cite book |last1=Windsor |first1=Laura Lynn |title=Women in medicine: An encyclopedia |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2002 |isbn=9781576073933 |location=Santa Barbara, CA}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}

* [http://asteria.fivecolleges.edu/findaids/mountholyoke/mshm192_main.html Virginia Apgar papers at Mount Holyoke College] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150317181439/http://asteria.fivecolleges.edu/findaids/mountholyoke/mshm192_main.html |date=2015-03-17 }}
* [http://c250.columbia.edu/c250_celebrates/remarkable_columbians/virginia_apgar.html Columbia biography]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20030225022830/http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/apgar.html MIT biography]
* [https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/theymadeamerica/whomade/apgar_hi.html PBS]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20020617080907/http://www.greatwomen.org/women.php?action=viewone&id=14 National Women's Hall of Fame]
* [http://www.whonamedit.com/doctor.cfm/204.html Full biography] on [http://www.whonamedit.com WhoNamedIt.com]
* [https://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/CP/ The Virginia Apgar Papers] – Profiles in Science, National Library of Medicine

{{History of medicine}}
{{National Women's Hall of Fame}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Apgar, Virginia}}
[[Category:1909 births]]
[[Category:1974 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American physicians]]
[[Category:20th-century American women scientists]]
[[Category:American anesthesiologists]]
[[Category:American medical researchers]]
[[Category:American pediatricians]]
[[Category:American women pediatricians]]
[[Category:Columbia University faculty]]
[[Category:Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons alumni]]
[[Category:Deaths from cirrhosis]]
[[Category:Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health alumni]]
[[Category:Bellevue Hospital physicians]]
[[Category:Mount Holyoke College alumni]]
[[Category:Teratologists]]
[[Category:Westfield High School (New Jersey) alumni]]
[[Category:People from Westfield, New Jersey]]
[[Category:20th-century American women physicians]]
[[Category:Alcohol-related deaths in New York (state)]]
[[Category:20th-century American women academics]]
[[Category:20th-century American academics]]
[[Category:Women anesthesiologists]]
[[Category:Women instrument makers]]
[[Category:Graduate Women in Science members]]