OUR HISTORY

The School of Medicine began its academic activities on October 30, 1859, as part of the Colegio Civil de Nuevo León, with an initial enrollment of 15 students, of whom seven graduated in 1865 —becoming the first physicians to graduate from the institution. During its first year, classes were held at the initial site of the Colegio Civil, formerly the Episcopal House. Later, on May 1, 1860, the Hospital Civil was inaugurated —located at what is now the intersection of Cuauhtémoc and 15 de Mayo streets— featuring a 53 x 5.5-meter hall divided into a ward for men and another for women. Fourteen beds were installed, along with a minimal set of medical instruments and supplies, a pharmacy, and spaces adapted for classrooms and a library to be used by medical students.

The hospital served as the venue for both theoretical and practical classes until 1892, when the School of Medicine acquired its own building constructed on hospital grounds. Toward the end of the 19th century, the institution faced challenges to its continuity; however, thanks to the vision and perseverance of distinguished physicians, these obstacles were overcome. The School of Medicine ensured its survival by becoming part of the Universidad de Nuevo León, established in 1933. A key factor in guaranteeing the viability of the medical school was the construction of the new Hospital Civil on the west side of the city of Monterrey in 1933. This project envisioned the hospital as the foundation of a larger medical complex, including academic, research, and healthcare buildings. In 1938, it began partial operations on the basement and first floor, and was officially inaugurated on October 3, 1943, with five fully equipped floors.

By the end of 1951, the School of Medicine relocated to a new building constructed near the Hospital Civil. On February 15, 1952, the Anatomy Section of the new building was inaugurated, and months later, on November 9, it was officially opened by the President of the Republic, Lic. Miguel Alemán Valdés. This event revived the longstanding vision of integrating the hospital and the school into one institution: the Teaching Hospital model. This project was successfully consolidated based on ideas previously championed by Drs. José Eleuterio González, Eusebio Guajardo, and Ángel Martínez Villarreal. On June 2, 1952, the state government officially transferred ownership of the Hospital Civil to the School of Medicine, which from that moment became the University Hospital. Thus, the hospital not only became the Clinical Department of the School of Medicine, technically dependent on it, but its director also assumed unified leadership of both institutions.

Over 164 years, the legacy of our Institution —today composed of the School of Medicine and the University Hospital Dr. José Eleuterio González— has represented, in large part, the history and progress of medical education and healthcare practice in Nuevo León and northeastern Mexico.