Some important aspects of medicine in Vienna over the centuries
The Vienna Medical School has existed for over 200 years in one form or another. The Empress Maria Theresa played a major role in creating this formidable institution. She appointed the Dutchman Gerard van Swieten, who was to become the founder of the school. He introduced numerous initiatives which the empress willingly allowed him to enact. These affected not just the medical faculty but the entire university. One such reform stipulated that all patients who died in the large university hospitals, which had over 3000 beds, must undergo an autopsy. This simple decree by the empress led to Vienna becoming a centre for many fields of medicine, in particular, anatomy, pathology, surgery, and later neurology. The Empress’ son, Joseph II, would continue her reforming work. Over the years the school has produced an enormous number of researchers who have contributed to a variety of fields, in some cases even laying the groundwork for that field as a separate specialty or discipline. Carl von Rokitansky, the renowned pathologist, elevated this specialty to great importance and helped turn medicine into a more rigorous scientific undertaking than had previously been practiced. He himself performed over 10000 autopsies. The school has produced such notable physicians, surgeons, anatomists and pathologists as Barany, Benedikt, Billroth, Boorhaave, Chiari, Chvostek, Gerstmann, Kaposi, Landsteiner, Marburg, Meynert, Nothnagel, Schilder, Semmelweiss, and von Economo. This discussion will highlight some of the important events in the history of medicine in Vienna and some of the many advances made by its researchers.