Antall József szerk.: Orvostörténeti közlemények 60-61. (Budapest, 1971)

TANULMÁNYOK - Szőkefalvi-Nagy Zoltán -Spielmann József: Nyulas Ferenc életére és működésére vonatkozó újabb adatok

ammoniac in order to produce the Dippel-oil, so popular in the West for nearly two hundred years in fighting the foot-and-mouth disease of catties. At the time of such an epidemic Nyulas freely distributed the oil in the villages of Kolozscounty. His prudence is manifested in the cautious way he commented on the promising results of the first year. At the death of Mihály Neustädter, protomedicus (chief medical officer) of Transylvania, he was appointed chief medical officer of Transylvania on 23rd October 1806, His span of office was marked by extremely many-sided activity. One his first measures was (17th February 1807) to ask all the municipalities to prepare a list of the qualifications and nationality of the physicians, surgeons, midwives, pharmacists and barbers, and also of their knowledge of languages. It was shown that in Transylvania there were 57 physicians, 162 surgeons, 64 barbers, 55 pharmacists and 142 midwives at that time. He was the first to organize pharmaceutics on a scientific basis. In 1807 he was commissioned by the Chancellary in Vienna to make an inspection of all pharmacies in the country. Previous to that, in the same year, ha had already drawn up an up-to-date "Instructio pro apothecariis", in which he outlined the professional and ethical tasks and obligations of the pharmacists in the spirit of Lavoisier's new findings in chemistry and of the enlightenment. With minor alterations this „Instructio" remained valid until the middle of the 19th century. He carried on the inspection of all pharmacies of Transylvania by himself between 27th June and 1st December 1807 and made a 95 page long report on his findings under the title "Generalis apothecarum visitatio rigorosa". The recently found report on the state of the pharmacies gives information on their accomodation, equipment, dwells on the reliability of the scales and weights and the separation of the poisonous drugs; delivers judgements on the chemical and botanical knowledge of the pharmacists, and separately mentions how they make use the domestic medicinal herbs in their officina, how they teach their assistants and apprentices. His observations and recommendations are left to the end of the report. In order to make the domestic herbs better known he proposes to equip the pharmacies where the owners' botanical knowledge is deficient with a "living herbarium" of such plants, collected by the noted pharmacist-botanist of Szeben, P. Sigerus, after an agreement with the latter. With a view to improve the poor chemical knowledge of some pharmacists he suggest to set up a central laboratory which would provide the apothecaries with chemical products on a reasonable price. This notable proposal was made twenty years before the establishment of the pharmaceutical laboratory of H. Merck in Darmstadt, which later developed into a large pharmaceutical factory. Nyulas also advised to use the new chemical terminology of Lavoisier on the vessels. In December 1807 he draw up a list ("Specificatio") together with Elek Keresztes, a physician in Kolozsvár, in which—based on their own researches — they enumerated all the medicinal herbs to be found in Transylvania, and their exact habitat. On the basis of this collection Nyulas proposed to forbid the import of all herbs which grow at home, too. The "Specificatio", which had 9 Orvostörténeti Közlemények 60—ül.