Mashhad School of Medicine was founded in 1941 with the sole mission of educating students and dispatching them to rural areas where access to medical care was desperately needed. In 1965
Badri Teymourtash and Esmael Sondoozi founded the university's School of Dentistry. In 1989, the faculties offering Medical Sciences' degrees across the country separated from the Ministry of Culture and Higher Education. New emerging medical universities have gone under management of Ministry of Health, Treatment and Medical Education. Thus the original University of Mashhad was divided into two independent universities: Ferdowsi University of Mashhad and Mashhad University of Medical Sciences. Mashhad University of Medical Sciences now operates with 8 faculties, 32 hospitals, 179 rural and 147 urban health centers. With 597 teaching staff, 1645 MDs with different specialties, 138 dentists, 123 pharmacists and 25, 402 employees, the university provides health care and medical services to the area's population. == Overview ==