The early stages of anatomy and obstetrics at the Göttingen University – 1734–1760

Abstract

In the Age of Enlightenment medical education was based on new fundamentals. According to experts at that time, a medical faculty had to have five branches: anatomy, botany, chemistry, practical and theoretical medicine. Perhaps Göttingen was the most successful university foundation at that time, because a generous financial support was provided, outstanding professors were invited and an education without censorship was warranted. The spirit of Enlightenment affected both the structure and the standards of education of the facultas medicinae. The word-wide reputation of this faculty was earned by Albrecht von Haller. Haller conceived both the still highly regarded botanical garden and the anatomical theatre, which was the first of its kind in the German speaking area. Furthermore, he founded one of the first clinical obstetrics departments in the world. Students gained theoretical knowledge, were trained practically and had the opportunity to make scientific observations and medical experiments. This paper describes the founding era of the medical faculty of University of Göttingen from a historical-cultural view of point, based on contemporary documents from Germany and Hungary.