Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 1852

IGNAEC FUELOEP SEMMELWEIS (1818-1865) Offener Brief an sämmtliche Professoren der Geburtshilfe. Aus der königl. ungar. Universitäts-Buchdruckerei 1862 viii, 92 pp. 20.3 cm.

For more information on this author or work, see number: 1851

Rebuffed, maligned, and depressed by the criticism and rejection of his great work (see No. 1851), Semmelweis almost immediately began to attack his antagonists in a series of open letters. The first publication appeared in 1861 and contained letters to Joseph Späth (1823-1896), professor of midwifery at the Joseph's Academy in Vienna, and Friedrich Wilhelm Scanzoni (1821-1891), professor of midwifery at Würzburg. This "Open letter to all the professors of obstetrics" appeared the following year and was the last of the open letters. It begins with a restatement of the basic premises contained in the Aetiologie and repeats the statistics used to prove his original argument that puerperal fever was due to septicemia caused by unsanitary obstetrical procedures. He goes on to denounce his critics in scathing tones which could have done nothing to improve his reputation or bring about the acceptance of his views. In spite of its length, the letter remained unfinished, ending with "(Fortsetzung und Schluss folgt.)" (p. 92).

Cited references: Waller 8833

Gift of John Martin, M.D.