History of University of Medicine ( 1 ) cannot be separated from that of the history of the Western Education in general and Western Healthcare System and Medical Education in particular, of Myanmar. It is highly appropriate to review briefly that background.

Myanmar Naing-gan (Burma) before British annexation was a sovereign country ruled by Myanmar Kings. The word "Myanmar" represents all the ethnic races - Kachins, Kayahs, Karens Chins, Mons, Barmars, Rakhines, Shans and all others residing in the country. The Myanmar social order then was based on a combination of Feudal administration, Buddhist culture and Buddhist Education. The famous monasteries in the country, especially in upper part of Myanmar, were the Institutions that imparted higher education.

Myanmar lost her kingdom and sovereignty after being waged by three British Imperialist wars - the first in 1824, the second in 1852 and the third in 1885. The British then ruled Myanmar as a Province of India under the administration of Deputy Governor General. The Buddhist culture and the Monastic Education began to decline and the British set up an educational system that was designed primarily to produce lower level government officials and clerks. The history of Medical Education was inseparably linked with that of higher education and that of the Rangoon University. From the historical point of view the old nomenclatures are used in this article.