Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Wound healing at a Viennese medical school 200 years ago

Wundheilung an einer Wiener Medizinischen Schule vor 200 Jahren

  • short communication
  • Published:
Wiener Medizinische Wochenschrift Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Summary

This historical account is a departure from the oblivion of the historical circumstances surrounding the introduction of the open method of wound healing by Vincenz Kern, a Viennese professor of surgery in 1809, and which is still used today in most surgical professions. Thanks are also due to the famous Medical University of Vienna from where Kern ultimately established numerous schools throughout Europe, including Croatia, as a then part of the great Austrian Empire.

Zusammenfassung

Diese historische Darstellung ermöglicht die Abkehr von der Vergessenheit der historischen Umstände bei der Einführung der offenen Methode der Wundheilung, welche 1809 durch den Wiener Chirurgen Professor Vincenz Kern begründet wurde und die auch heute noch im Alltag der meisten chirurgischen Berufsgruppen angewendet wird. Dank gebührt auch der Medizinischen Universität Wien, von wo aus Kern schließlich zahlreiche Schulen in ganz Europa, einschließlich Kroatien als Teil des damaligen großen österreichischen Kaiserreichs, eröffnete.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

References

  1. Eckart W. Illustrierte Geschichte der Medizin. Heidelberg: Springer; 2011.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  2. Habek D. History of medicine with development of midwifery, obstetrics and gynecology. Zagreb: Medicinska naklada Verlag and Catholic University of Croatia; 2015.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Kidd M, Modlin IM. Van Swieten and the renaissance of the Vienna Medical School. World J Surg. 2001;25:444–50.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Kiple K. The cambridge world history of human disease. New York: Cambridge University Press; 1993.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  5. Vrgoč A. Pharmacy in Croatian Militar Grenze. Zagreb: University of Zagreb; 1944. pp. 28–9.

  6. Firinger K, Utvić V. History of hospitals departments in Osijek 1739–1930. Osijek: Opća bolnica Osijek; 1970.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Muster-liste, Revisionsliste, Transferierungsliste und Standestabellen von Truppenkorpern der Militargrenze. Grenz Infanterie St. Georgen Regiment. Belehrung über die Anwendung der rohen Baumwolle als Verbandmittel beu Wunden und Geschwüren in der f. f. Militär-Spitaler. Wien, 30. jun 1855. Zagreb; Croatian State Archives, D‑1468-1503.

  8. Vaniček F. Specialgeschichte der Militärgranze aus Originalquellen und Quellenwerken geschopft. Wien: Kaisserlich-Koeniglichen Hof- und Statsdruckerei; 1875. 4 Bde.

    Google Scholar 

  9. von Taube F. Historische und geographische Beschriebung des Königreichs Slavonien und des Herzogtum Syrmiem. Leipzig; Band II–III; 1777; pp. 165–66.

  10. Pharmacopoea Austriaca. Vindobonae, editio 1774.

  11. Index librorum. Hofkriegsrates 1557.–1848. Osterreichisches Kriegsarchiv Wien, 1768/I.

  12. Kern V. Avis aux chirurgiens pour les engager, à accepter, et d’introduire une methode plus simple, plus naturelle et moins dispendieuse dans le pansement des blessés. 2nd ed. Wien: Univeristy of Vienna; 1809.

  13. Wyklicki H. Das Josephinum. Wien-München: Brandstatter; 1985. p. 95.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Kumar B, Vijayakumar M, Govindarajan R, Pushpangadan P. Ethnopharmacological approaches to wound healing—exploring medicinal plants of India. J Ethnopharmacol. 2007;114:103–13.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Mallon EA. Ambrose Paré, father of modern surgery. Rec Amer Cathol Hist Soci Phil. 1913;24:346.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Hellner H, Nissen R, Vossschulte K. Lehrbuch der Chirurgie. Stuttgart: Thieme; 1962. pp. 13–20. in German.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Leusden FP. Chirurgische Operationslehre. Berlin, Wien: Urban & Schwarzenberg; 1925. pp. 1–16.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia

    Roko Habek

  2. School of Medicine, Catholic University of Croatia, Academy of Medical Sciences, Ilica 242, Zagreb, Croatia

    Dubravko Habek MD, MSc, PhD, PhD

Authors
  1. Roko Habek
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Dubravko Habek MD, MSc, PhD, PhD
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

Roko Habek wrote the main manuscript and critically reviewed the manuscript; Dubravko Habek reviewed the manuscript and gave some suggestions for improvements of the paper. All authors meet the criteria of authorship and have rights to intellectual content.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dubravko Habek MD, MSc, PhD, PhD.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

R. Habek and D. Habek declare that they have no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Habek, R., Habek, D. Wound healing at a Viennese medical school 200 years ago. Wien Med Wochenschr 173, 397–400 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10354-022-00992-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10354-022-00992-5

Keywords

Schlüsselwörter

Search

Navigation