Antall József szerk.: Pictures from the Past of the Healing Arts / Orvostörténeti Közlemények – Supplementum 5. (Budapest, 1972)
The Life of Ignác Semmelweis (1818-1865)
attached to the fingers of the doctor but also by the "atmospheric conditions" of the room. The exact execution of chlorinated lime handwash resulted in a great reduction in the mortality rate, in the ist Clinic being 1,27 percent, in the 2nd Clinic 1,33 percent. In March and August 1848 there were no deaths in the clinics. Each mistheory that had been out forward on the causes of puerperal fever were done away with and the Semmelweis doctrine was born. He clearly defined the aetiology of the disease and the ways and means for its prevention, which is nothing else than asepsis, the prophylaxis of infection. This simple truth, however, was not easily accepted. Not only his jelous and regressive chief, Professor Klein, his colleauges, the medical students and the staff - who all considered the chlorine handwash as an unnecessary molestation - but also a great number of foreign authorities on obstetrics like Simpson in Edinburgh, Scanzoni in Wiirtzburg, Dubois in Paris and Kiwish in Prague unanimously refused Semmelweis's theory. Only Professor Michaelis in Kiel accepted his discovery, who having realized that he himself had been the "murderer" of the mothers, committed suicide. Semmelweis made the fatal mistake of not publishing his discovery in a full authentic text. He wrote private letters about it to his friends, because as he said later: "my whole nature repulses from any kind of paper warfareInstead of him, his friends, the members of the Second Vienna School undertook this task. Professor Hebra, the famous dermatologist said that Semmelweis's discovery was equivalent to Jenner's small-pox vaccination. Skoda, the internist of great reputation, supported Semmelweis by lecturing on his discovery. These atmosphere in the Viennese medical circles was rather tense, when in 1848 the revolutions in Europe broke out. SEMMELWEIS AND THE MEDICAL SCHOOL OF PEST During the Hungarian revolution and War of Independence against Austria (1848-1849) Semmelweis stayed in Vienna. The revolutionary storms that reached Vienna in March, caused the fall of Metternich and the Emperor agreed on the formation of the Academic Legion and the National Guard. Among the members we find Hebra, Hyrtl and Semmelweis, too. The National Legion was, however, disbanded when the second Revolution of Vienna (October 6th, 1848) broke ont. There is little likelihood that Semmelweis was member of the Academic Legion, he could only be the member of the National Guard, in the spring months. Had he taken a more active part in the event Rosas and Klein, the representatives of reaction would have been quick to use the revolutionary behaviour of the reformers, above all Semmelweis, to their discredit. He could, however, continue his career as obstetrician and fought for the vindication of
