Magyar László szerk.: Orvostörténeti közlemények 133-140. (Budapest, 1991-1992)
ADATTÁR - DOCUMENTATION - Szende Béla: Antal Genersich, a Great Hungarian Pathologist
ANTAL GENERSICH, A GREAT HUNGARIAN PATHOLOGIST BÉLA SZENDE Antal Genersich, born in 1842, was one of the best and most beloved students of Lajos Arányi, founder of the Institute of Pathology (1844) at the University of Pest, Hungary. He joined this Institute as a student and continued to work there until 1868, when he became the head of the Pathology Department of the Municipal Hospital in Pest. Several hand-written autopsy records of Genersich are still in the possession of the 1st Institute of Pathology and Experimental Cancer Research, Budapest. The most interesting of these is the description and depiction of a dicephalus Janus (fig. 1.). Later on, Genersich published a paper on this topic. 1 The talented young pathologist was awarded a state fellowship in 1868 and he spent altogether two years at Recklinghausen in Würzburg, at Rokitansky and Strieker in Vienna, at Ludwig and Wagner in Leipzig ad at Virchow in Berlin. Recklinghausen let him do the autopsy of the second case of neurofibromatosis and Genersich found out, that the brother of the patient suffered also from the same disease. Thus, he was first to show the hereditary nature of this condition. 2 In Leipzig he performed experimental work on the lymphatic vessels of the striated muscles, using electric stimulation of dog sceletal muscles. 3 Unfortunately, he became seriously ill during his trip abroad and his „good friends" even proclaimed his death. When he returned to Hungary in 1870, he found the chair of the in the meantime retired Arányi — which was due to him — filled by a former assistant of Rokitansky, Gustav Scheuthauer. The only possibility for him was to accept the chairmanship at the newly created Institute of Pathology of the University of Kolozsvár, Transylvania. The next 25 years represent the most fruitful period of lis scientific life. He created an institute of European standard considering both the facilities and the scientific output. He published a series of articles on various pathological topics as amyloidosis, 4 leukémiás, 5 peritonitis, 6 pancreas anomaly, 7 liver abscess, 8 the formation of bile and kidney stones 9 and the significance of Paccini's bodies, 10 etc. Geneersich was first to describe in Hungary cases of actinomycosis 11 and trichinellosis, 12 the later also proven by animal inoculation. His most important discovery in pathology was the detection of the 1 Genersich, A.: Kétarcú torzszülött. Orv. Term, értesítő. 1881 2 Genersich, A.: Multiple neurome. Virchows Arch. path. Anal. 49 B, 15 (1870) 3 Genersich, A.: Die Aufnahme der Lymphe durch die Schechnen und Fascien der Skeletmuskeln. Berichte der Sachs. Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1870 4 Genersich, A.: Adatok az amylodos elfajulás kórtanához. Orv. Hetil. 24, 1081 (1881) 5 Genersich, A.: Fehérvérűség egy esete. Orv. Hetil 11, 33 (1868) 6 Genersich, A.: Bauchfellentzündung beim Neugebornen in Folge von Perforation des Ileums. Virchows Arch. path. Anal 126B, 485 (1891) 7 Genersich, A.: Eine seltene Anomalie des Pankreas. Verh. desX. intern, med. Congress Berlin Bd 2. Abt. 3. 140, 1891 8 Genersich, A.: Leberabscess. Pester med. chir. Presse, 910 (1892) 9 Genersich, A.: Die Härte der krankhaften Concremente. Virchows Arch. path. Anat. 126, 485 (1891) 10 Genersich, A.: Beitrag zur Anatomie und path. Anatomie der aus sympathischen Bauchgeflechte befindlichen paccinischen Körperchen. Med. Jahrbücher, Wien, 1876 11 Genersich, A.: Actinomycosis. Orv. Hetil. 28, 925 (1885) 12 Genersich, A.: Ein Fall von geheilter Trichinosis. Pester med. chir. Presse, 1891
