Ignaz Semmelweis

"Nachdem mich das Ergebniss der Chlorwaschungen davon überzeugt hat, was die wahre Ursache des Kindbettfiebers sei, teilte ich meine Meinung den Leitern mehrerer Gebäranstalten mit, damit ich die Menschheit und deren möglichst grössten Theil von dieser Geissel je eher befreie. translation: After the results of the chlorine washes convinced me of the true cause of childbed fever, I shared my opinion with the directors of several maternity hospitals so that I could free humanity, and as many people as possible, from this scourge as soon as possible."

"Die Geburtshilfe ist derjenige Zweig des Medicin, welcher die höchste Aufgabe derselben, nämlich Rettung des bedrohten menschlichen Lebens, in zahlreichen Fällen am augenscheinliche löst. Unter vielen Fällen wollen wir nur die Querlage des reifen Kindes anführen. Mutter und Kind sind ein sicheren Tode verfallen, wenn die Geburt der Natur überlassen bleibt, während die rechtzeitig hilfeleistende Hand der Geburtshelfers durch beinahe schmerzlose, Kaum einige Minuten in Anspruch nehmende Handgriffe beider rettet. translation: Obstetrics is the branch of medicine which in numerous cases most clearly solves its most important task, namely saving human life in danger. Among many cases we will only mention the . Mother and child are doomed to certain death if birth is left to nature, while the timely assistance of the obstetrician saves both by almost painless manipulations which take only a few minutes."

"... If one understood the cause of puerperal fever, perhaps the disease could at least be prevented, but such was not the case. To Semmelweis, the disease was as frightening as it was to his colleagues. Yet, unlike his colleagues, Semmelweis saw in puerperal fever a troubling dichotomy. While he was driven to a state of chronic melancholy from observing the large numbers of women dying under his care, at the same time, the disease represented his noble challenge—one that would consume the rest of his life."

"Ignaz Semmelweis’ (1818–1865) discovery of the endemic causes of febris puerperalis is a striking example of the role of in medicine. Transdisciplinarity encounters Semmelweis’ biography, which is neither linear nor totally focused on medicine. He completed the philosophicum (artisterium), studying the ' (1835–1837) in Pest, comprising humanities and natural science. After moving to Vienna, he began to study law, but turned to medicine as early as 1838. In 1844, he graduated with a botanical doctoral thesis composed in , showing linguistic and stylistic talent and a broad knowledge of gynecology and obstetrics. The style and topoi demonstrate the interchangeability of what he learnt during his propaedeuticum. Nowadays, hardly anyone is familiar with this booklet, for two main reasons: the language choice and the life-saving impact of the physician’s ' on the reasons for puerperal fever ('). In later life, he became convinced that he had no talent as a (scientific) author—a fatal error that led him to become a victim of what we now call “publish or perish.” Semmelweis had felt rejected for years. This negative feeling was the reason for his decision not to publish his great book for 14 years. When it finally went to the printer in 1861, the scientific community did not accept it."

"Nächste Woche trete ich meine Stelle als »Herr Doktor« auf der ersten Station der Entbindungsklinik im Allgemeinen Krankenhaus von Wien an. Ich war entsetzt, als ich vom Prozentsatz der Patienten hörte, die in dieser Klinik sterben. In diesem Monat starben dort sage und schreibe 36 von 208 Müttern, alle an Kindbettfieber. Ein Kind zur Welt zu bringen ist genauso gefährlich wie eine Lungenentzündung ersten Grades."