J. Antall szerk.: Medical history in Hungary 1972. Presented to the XXIII. International Congress of the History of Medicine / Orvostörténeti Közlemények – Supplementum 6. (Budapest, 1972)
D. Karasszon : Gensel and Sydenham
GENSEL AND SYDENHAM by DÉNES KARASSZON /r»he first half of the 18th century in Hungary was the period preceeding the beginning of medical teaching (1769). At that time Hungarian students studied medicine in foreign universities and got acquainted with various philosophical and natural scientific theories. From the point of view of medical history, the 18th century is the age of Boerhaave (1668—1738). The teachings of the "communis Europae sub initio huius saeculi magister" became generally known in the countries of the Habsburg Monarchy especially through the activity of van Swieten (1700— 1772). In the first half of the century the physicians —having attented different schools —followed mostly the iatrophysical and iatrochemical trend. As regards epidemic diseases, the activity of Thomas Sydenham (1624—1689), the "English Hippocrates " is of the greatest significance. The teachings of this "practicus londinensis celeberrimus" spread quickly thanks to the subsequent editions of his works all over Europe. The original English edition was translated into Latin by Mapletoft and Havers and after Sydenham's death they were published in the edition of Monfort in Amsterdam, Geneve, Frankfurt, Leyđeñ, Leipzig, Nürnberg, Venice, Padua, Avignon, Montpellier, Vienna and Altona. The 1723 Genevian edition of Sydenham's "Opera Medica" serves special attention in Hungarian relations (22). The publication of this "Editio novissima variis variorum Praestantissimorum medicorum observationibus quam maxime illustrata et aucta : Imo et iam, plurium Constitutionum Epidemicarum recentiorum descriptione, rursus auctior " refers to the fact that epidemiological studies like "De morbis epidemicis. .. etc." were required and presented in order to be of some help in stemming the devastating epidemics. At the same time, the royal privelege which protomed the publication of the works of the famous English physician in the German Roman Empire indicated that Emperor Charles VI (as Hungarian King Charles III) wanted to deepen the friendship between his country and the allied England. In Hungarian history the period of Charles' VI (III) reign (1711—1740) is remembered not only for the Pragmatica Sanctio, the Piece of Passarovic (1718) and Belgrad (1739) with the Turks, the new measures taken for promoting civil administration, legislation industry and trade in the interest of the regulation of public affairs in the country that has been recaptured from the Turks not long before and perturbed again by the war of independence led by Ferenc Rákóczi II. This period is especially noteworthy from the point 8 Orvostörténeti Közlemények 6.
