Pictures from the Past of the Healing Arts / Orvostörténeti Közlemények – Supplementum 18-19. (Budapest, 2000)
Pictures from the Past of the Healing Arts - Guide to the Exhibition
(Physico-surg¡cal Treaty on Plastic Surgery), written in 1844, is an important work in the history of Hungarian plastic surgery. He also took part in the War of Independence. He was medical-officer-in-chief of a battalion and later promoted to surgeon-major and belonged to the staff of General Görgey. In June 1849 he was appointed head of the Public Health Department of the Ministry of Defense. After the surrender at Világos, he was detailed to work as a male-nurse in the Austrian Imperial Army but luckily, by the intervention of Dr Böhm, his former collaegue in Vienna, he could avoid to perform this task. During the so-called Bach-regime, the period of Austrian nco-absolutism in the 1850's, his articles were published in the Medical Weekly. He worked for the Hungarian State Railways as a doctor between 1860-1886, then became head of the Surgical Department of the St. Rochus Hospital. In 1872 he had been appointed assistant professor and from 1880 professor at the University of Pest. He also had a leading role in re-organizing public health services. He joined the Royal Association of Budapest Physicians and was its president between 1880 and 1886. In 1895 King Ferenc József (1849, 1867-1916) honoured his efforts by providing him with a seat in the Upper House of the Parliament. In the show-case, that commemorates his life and work we have exhibited a golden copy of the so-called Lumniczer-forceps which was invented by him. He was given this piece by his former pupils. Next to it, you can see a photograph of him and a plaque made by Dr Ferenc Högÿes (1860-1923) together with some surgical instruments of the period: accessories for suture, tonsillotome, Pctit's raspatory and Lciter's osteotome, etc. 4. Ignác Semmelweis The hard life and world-famous discovery of the greatest Hungarian physician is thoroughly discussed in numerous biographies written either by Hungarian or foreign authors. In this chapter we only deal with his rcliquia presented in the exhibition, but you can find an entire chapter on him later. The copies of the Land-registers of the Tabán district (No.l), kept in the Buda Archives, prove that the Semmelweis-family lived in this building between 18061823. You can also see a page of the birth-register of the Tabán Parish Church with the entry of Ignác Semmelweis's birth (No. 1). The mourning-card of his father (No.2), József Semmelweis, who died in 1846, has been written in Hungarian. This may be regarded rather exceptional, considering that in this part of the city German used to be the most widely spoken tongue at that time. A certificate (No. 5), signed by Semmelweis in 1847, declares that Markusovszky successfully completed the required obstetrical-practice lectures. You can see the original wedding-report of Dr Semmelweis with Maria Weidenhofer in 1857 (No. 3). There arc two photographs of Semmelweis taken in 1861 and 72
