U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) Untreated Syphilis Study at Tuskegee
The USPHS Untreated Syphilis Study at Tuskegee began in 1929 as a cooperative study involving the USPHS, the Julius Rosenwald Fund, and state and local health departments in six southern states. During the study, a number of Black men in Tuskegee (Macon County), AL, with syphilis were left untreated, but were observed, studied, and compared to a control group which did not have the disease. The study continued until the 1970s when its existence was revealed to the public, resulting in Department of Health Education and Welfare and Congressional hearings on the ethics of medical experiments on human subjects.
This photograph depicts one of the doctors who worked with the USPHS Untreated Syphilis Study at Tuskegee drawing blood from one of the participants. Learn more about the individuals involved in this study by viewing the index.
Photograph of Participants in the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, undated. National Archives Identifier: 956091
View and download the photograph of a participant of the USPHS Untreated Syphilis Study at Tuskegee in the National Archives Catalog. This photograph is one example of the many records held at the National Archives at Atlanta, GA. You can explore more of our holdings by visiting our online Catalog or by visiting the National Archives at Atlanta. This record is located within Record Group 442: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Series: Tuskegee Syphilis Study Administrative Records, 1929–1972. Many of the records in this collection have yet to be digitized. We encourage researchers to visit us onsite to explore these records and learn more about the archival collections held in the National Archives at Atlanta.