The Manchester Royal School of Medicine has its origins in a medical teaching establishment opened on Pine Street, Manchester, England, by Thomas Turner. Established in 1824, the school added the word Royal in 1836 and in 1872 it was taken over by Owens College, which later became a part of the Victoria University of Manchester.

Thomas Turner, FRCS, FLS, was an English surgeon known primarily for his involvement in developing medical education outside its then traditional base of London. He established a medical school in Manchester and was both a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England and the Linnean Society of London.