From the 1860s up until the First World War, Switzerland was famous for its "medical feminism". It attracted women who came from all over the world to study medicine in its universities. In 1906, the number of female students exceeded that of male ones in all of Swiss medical faculties. At this time, Switzerland comprised more medical female students than the rest of Europe or than all of the medical schools of the USA. Using the results of an exploratory historical investigation, this article explores this little-known history of the pioneer feminisation of Swiss faculties of medicine and its impact on medical innovation.