Past and Present of the First Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of Semmelweis University Medical School [antikvár]

Although interest in the birth process is as old as the existence of humanity, obstetrics is one of the branches of medicine which developed last. The relatively short period in which it has developed is, nevertheless, full of lessons for posterity. To understand the present, and to look forward to the future, is only possible in the light of the history of the profession. This volume is designed to help this process. This memóriái volume was compiled on the occasion of the lOOth anniversary of the completion of the building complex, which serves as the home of the First Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of the Semmelweis University Medical School in Budapest. In order to appropriately assess this grand-scale construction, that to a great extent satisfied the highest technical and scientific requirements of that time and alsó gave a reliable basis for later development, one should know its history thoroughly. Within this context, the origins of medical training in Hungary (which date back to the Middle Ages) are mentioned along with the history of education and obstetrical training at the medical faculty of the university, which was founded by Cardinal Péter Pázmány. The history of this school is full of hardships such as having to move from one city to another within only a few decades and being located in buildings which offered only temporary solutions. Even Ignác Semmelweis, after whom the university is named, the greatest representative of obstetrics in Hungary and an outstanding figure of the medical sciences on an international level (who was recognized and esteemed only after his tragic death), was occasionally forced to teach medical and midwife students in the corridors. Information on the history the régiónál system of university instruction in obstetrics is presented. This includes the activities of the universities and midwife training institutes in Hungary until the beginning of World War I, with due attention being paid to the activity of the leading representatives of obstetrics and gynaecology. The subsequent chapters of the volume are limited to the subject of the department which is now celebrating its jubilee, beginning with the economic problems of the