The Viennese dissection course—A model for Habsburg medical teaching (1787–1848)

Sophia Bauer; Leo Schaukal; Wolfgang J. Weninger

doi:10.1007/s00508-024-02433-2

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Title (eng)

The Viennese dissection course—A model for Habsburg medical teaching (1787–1848)

Author

Sophia Bauer

Department of Social and Economic History, Faculty of Historical and Cultural Studies, University of Vienna

Leo Schaukal

Department of Anatomy, Center for Anatomy and Cell Biology, Medical University of Vienna

Wolfgang J. Weninger

Department of Anatomy, Center for Anatomy and Cell Biology, Medical University of Vienna

Abstract (eng)

This article delves into the beginnings of the dissection course, a teaching practice which today is still in place in Vienna and continues to shape future medical practitioners. Based on a comparison of different historical sources the article shows that the Viennese tradition of a dissection course dates back to the 1780s and the initiative of the anatomist Joseph Barth to build a dissection institute and to implement a dissection course, two endeavors that coincided with Joseph II’s reform ideas regarding a practically orientated medical and surgical education and a Europe-wide practice turn. Additionally, this paper shows the role of the Viennese dissection course as model for other Habsburg universities and, thus, explains the similarities of today’s dissection courses in different former Habsburg universities.

Keywords (eng)

AnatomyHistoryCadaveric dissectionVienna18th and 19th Century

Type (eng)

journal article

Language

English [eng]

Persistent identifier

https://phaidra.univie.ac.at/o:2126904

DOI

10.1007/s00508-024-02433-2

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