Differences in the Percentage of Illustrations Showing Males Versus Females in General Medicine and General Surgery Textbooks

Abstract

This study aimed to assess differences in the percentage of illustrations showing males versus females in textbooks of general medicine and general surgery, two areas that constitute a focus of the traditional medical school curriculum. Illustrations showing 3447 individuals and/or external body parts from all general medicine (n = 13) and general surgery (n = 2) books listed in the “essential purchase titles” section of Doody’s Core Titles list (2013) were assessed. Sex was determined based on depictions of faces, chests, and the genital region. One thousand one hundred fifty-three individuals and/or external body parts could be clearly identified as either male (58.28 %) or female (41.72 %), yielding a difference of 16.57 %. The difference in the percentage of identifiable males and females depicted was smaller in general surgery books (6.43 %) as compared to general medicine texts (20.84 %). Differences were noted in the percentage of male and female body parts shown by anatomical site. Of all faces that could be clearly identified as either male or female, 78.04 % were male, while 21.96 % were female. By contrast, 55.93 % of genital regions that could be classed as either male or female showed men, while 44.07 % showed women. These results suggest that illustrations in medical textbooks may continue to depict more males than females. Students may have more exposure to illustrations of the male than the female body during their training.