Antall József szerk.: Orvostörténeti közlemények 57-59. (Budapest, 1971)

KISEBB KÖZLEMÉNYEK — ELŐADÁSOK - Bokesová- Uherová, Mária: A nagyszombati egyetem orvostudományi karának keletkezése és szervezete (angol nyelven)

no forerunners, no home traditions and that in every aspect they had to begin a pioneering work. The study of medicine was not, as in other universities abroad, divided into a certain number of school terms. The students could, according to their ability master the subject matter for passing the final examination in a shorter or longer time. Lectures were given in the time as determined in the school schedule without regard to the sequence of subjects. It was only in 1775, to adhere to the new order of study, the originator of which was van Swieten's successor in the office of protomedicus, Anton von Störck, that the subjects dealing with medicine were divided into five years, where attention was paid to the principle that students had first to study theory and natural science subjects and only then internal medicine and surgery. Both pedagogic activity and research activity at the Tyrnavia Medical Faculty were badly handicapped not only from the beginning when the faculty had no proper building of its own, which was completed and put to use only in 1772, but almost during the whole period of its existence in Tyrnavia, this activity was meeting with almost insurmountable difficulties. There were inadequacies of primary character especially in the department of anatomy and internal medicine. The faculty had not the possibility of having an uninterrupted supply of human bodies for autopsy for dissection exercises. Neither were these inadequacies solved by new statutes according to which the faculty was to get the bodies of condemned and executed criminals from the region of Posonium and Nitravia.* A later solution, suggested by protomedicus von Störck, that the department of anatomy be satisfied with zootomy in its dissection exercises proved to be ineffective. The department of internal medicine also struggled with insurmountable difficulties. For the clinical practice of its students it needed a hospital where the professor of internal medicine and the professor of surgery could demonstrate directly on the patients not only pathology, but also the therapy of the diseases and surgical operations. There was not such a hospital in Tyrnavia. The town hospital and lazaret were far from giving the possibilities to satisfy the needs of the faculty of medicine. Negotiations with the town representatives to secure a more suitable hospital for the needs of the faculty did not lead to a successful solution and conditions for better clinical practice did not improve during the existence of the Tyrnavia Medical Faculty. The professors of internal medicine and surgery had to help themselves as best they could with private practice and prepare their students for their future vocation in the framework of their limited possibilities. The position of the department of natural sciences was not much more favourable. For the teaching of botany there was no botanical garden at the beginning. Gradually this department had built its own garden but the ground proved to be unsuitable, later it got part of the garden of the Jesuit Order. All the work connected with the supplying and planting of plants and the up* Hungarian Nyitra, today Nitra in Czechoslovakia.