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)

V. R. Harkó and T. Vida : British Contacts of the Hungarian István Weszprémi, M. D. (1723—1799)

V. R. Harkó— T. Vida : British Contacts of I. Weszprémi. 133 való rövid oktatás (Brief Instruction on the Education of Small Children) was written already in 1758, but was published only in 1760 at Kolozsvár (today Cluj, Rumania). This is not the place or time to assess the work as a whole, but let us remark that it showed Weszprémi's continued interest in prophylactic inoculations against smallpox. In the introductory dedication to Ádám Tĥoldi de Szalonta, he wrote, "When children reached the fourth year of their lives, we could inoculate them with smallpox

. It is certain, as can be seen from thousands of examples in foreign countries, that no one inoculated with it ever died or had his face disfigured

: even in the lazaret we had a few hundreds inoculated with it, but I have never seen a single one, nor have others observed anyone, who had more than fifty or 60 poxes over his entire body" Weszprémi regretted the backwardness of his country in obstetrics. He was again referring to his experiences abroad, and especially in England, when in his "Brief Instruction on the Education of Small Children" he wrote: "In England and in foreign countries no one may be a doctor, chirurgist, or midwife until he has mastered the trade and has not presented his mastery in actual manual operations

." His contemporaries regarded Weszprémi an excellent obstetrician. He received his training from William Smellie (1680—1763), who attested the skill and qualifications of his pupil with a certificate he made out in his own hand. Smellie was one of the greatest obstetricians of the times, and invented several instruments used to this day in obstetrics. His obstetrical forceps, for instance, still help physicians to cope with a number of obstetrical problems, such as a narrow pelvis or the need to correct the position of the head of the foetus.

19 Weszprémi followed in his footsteps as such a gifted pupil that his name was recorded in professional literature (Seibold, Baas, Gurlt-Hirsch), and he was ranked among the masters of the art. That may have been the reason why when Joseph II visited Debrecen in 1770, he questioned Weszprémi about his obstetrical practice. Weszprémi answered that regrettably the local women were prudish and the husbands were antagonistic, so he was rarely called to women in labour.

2

0 Weszprémi saw in Debrecen that there were few midwives, and those few had not had regular training but had gained their skill through practice. He wanted to change this and so issued in 1766 in Debrecen his Bábamesterségre tanító köny (Textbook for the art of Midwifery). He followed Smellie in the idea of having his book illustrated (Crantz's book lacked illustrations). He borrowed the figures and diagrams from the midwifery book (1717) of Professor 1

9 István Weszprémi was issued the following certificate by William Smellie, the famous London obstetrician: "These are to certify that during the time of two Courses Mr. Stephan Weszprémi, Doctor of Physiçk, hath carefully attended my LECTURES on MIDWIFERY, by which he has had the opportunity of being fully instructed in all the different Operations and Branches of that Art. Witness my Hand, this 19th day of July 1755." 2

0 Siebold, E. C. J. von: Versuch einer Geschichte der Geburtshülfe. Berlin, 1845. Vol. II, p. 434.