"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."