The BMA has now been in existence for a century and three quarters. Such longevity is impressive. Rival bodies, including an earlier British Medical Association unrelated to Charles Hastings' creation, proved transient. The BMA of 2007 is, of course, a very different creature from its earlier incarnation, the Worcester based Provincial Medical and Surgical Association of 1832. Now, headquartered far from its place of origin and operating under a different name, it performs different functions in a much changed medical context. It has faced numerous challenges in the past, and its continued existence has not always been assured. It seems safe to assume, however, that it is well on its way to a bicentenary