Antall József szerk.: Pictures from the Past of the Healing Arts / Orvostörténeti Közlemények – Supplementum 5. (Budapest, 1972)

The Medical Historical Library

REFERENCE LITERATURE TO MEDICAL HISTORY The material of the medical historical collection of the library is completed with the indispensable reference literature, including biographies and bibliographies, dictionaries, encyclopaedias, reference works and other material needed to procession work in the library (history of medical incunabula, manuscripts, illustrations, bindings, presses, etc.) Considering the historical character of our library and the fact that its holdings include not only works related to medicine or pharmaceutics but to the kindred branches of science, too, the reference material reveals a wide range of interest. In addition to the basic historical source material it includes works from the field of ethnology, art history, literature, cultural history, philosophy, sociology, not to mention the rich collection of works related to chemistry, physics ant other branches of natural sciences. The reference material to medical history consists of works published in Hungary and abroad. From the earliest sources to the most up-to-date works it covers a wide range of the relevant literature. As to Hungarian literature, the basic source is István Weszprémi's (17231799) Succinta medicorum Hungáriáé et Transilvaniae biogpraphia the first Hungarian medical biography. Its bilingual edition has been recently published by our Institute. The last volume (Vol IV) was published in 1971. Mention should be made of Pál Adami's work on the history of epidemics published in 1784, furthermore Francis Xav. Linzbauer's work in seven volumes Codex Sanitario-medicinalis Hungáriáé (Buda, 1852—1865) which is the most important encyclopaedia of Hungarian medical history containing documents referring to the history of Public Health in Hungary from King Stephen I. (St. Stephan) up to 1848. Kálmán Demkó wrote the first monography on Hungarian medical history. His work published in 1894 deals with the history of the Hungarian Medical Faculty up to the end of the 18th century. Tibor Gyory discussed several basic questions of Hungarian medical history. His summarizing work on the history of the medical faculty of the Budapest University was published on account of the 300th anniversary of the Budapest University. His bibliography of Hungarian medical literature of four centuries (Medical Bibliography of Hungary

, 1472-1899 (Budapest, 1900) is still an indispensible manual of every researcher. Gyula Magyary-Kossa's life-work, a collection of data: "Medical Relics of Hungary

" (I-IV., Budapest 1929-1940) contains an enormous material of data and has remained our most important text-book. The works of Ferenc Kolozs Mayer "The History of Medical Science

" (Budapest, 1927) and Elek Hints's work of similar character (Vol. I. Prehistoric and antique medical science; Vol. II, Medieval medical science, Budapest 1939) refer not only to Hungarian medical history but reveal a universal interest in this field. György Gortvay's comprehensive book entitled "The History of Medical Culture