Philipp Franz von Siebold and His Era: Prerequisites, Developments, Consequences And Perspectives - Tapa blanda

TH. BERCHEM ince its foundation 400 years ago, Würzburg University has 1 S followed its purpose of safeguarding tradition and acting as a meeting point for scientists from horne and abroad; in short, it is a forum for national and international exchange, in accordance with its memorandum of establishment. The historie role of Wür­ zburg University has been accentuated by its faculty of medicine, surgery in particular. One name, indeed, illuminates its excellent scientific reputation, a name representing a whole dynasty of scholars: Siebold. This year we celebrate the 200th anniversary of Philipp Franz von Siebold's birth. He is one of Würzburg's most famous scholars. However, we should remember that his grandfa­ ther, Carl Caspar, originally contributed to a considerable en­ hancement of this university's reputation: he was the founder and first head of surgery. CI like the idea that he came from my hometown of Nideggen in the Eifel region, but this is only of mar­ ginal interest. ) When Carl Caspar came to Würzburg in 1760, the medical faculty consisted of five students. Since then, the total number has grown to 20,000. In 1760 Würzburg University was much dif­ ferent from nowadays. Medicine at Würzburg during the eight­ eenth century meant the Juliusspital, a very famous hospital at that time and which still exists today. The garden pavilion of that hospital was Germany's first institution for anatomy.

The Dutch East Indian Company was founded about 400 years ago, and in 1641 the artificial island of Dejima in the port of Nagasaki became its base. This island represented the only bridge between Japan, at that time in self-isolation, and the European countries, the Netherlands in particular. The physician and surgeon Philipp Franz von Siebold, born in Würzburg in 1796, was appointed as factory doctor of the Dutch East Indian Company in Dejima and, later on, he made history as the scientific discoverer of Japan for the Western world. His grandfather Karl Kaspar von Siebold was the first real university surgeon in Würzburg from 1796 until 1807, and was "the prominent surgeon of Southern Germany". In commemoration of Philipp Franz von Siebold, his 200th birthday and the developments introduced by him were celebrated by various events in Nagasaki and Würzburg in 1996. The present volume casts spotlights on medicine and surgery during this time, his achievements, and his surroundings, as well as on modern developments and the relationship between Europe and Japan.