[History of the prosector's office at the Charité Hospital, Berlin. 5. Johann Heinrich Meckel von Hemsbach, prosector of the Charité Hospital from 1852 to 1856].
A report is presented on the period of about 3 1/2 years when Johann Heinrich Meckel von Hemsbach (1822-1856) held the office of Prosector at Berlin's Charité Hospital. Meckel who was born in Berne on 8 June 1822 was an offspring of a famous family of German anatomists whose most important members are described. From 1841 on Meckel studied medicine in Halle where he also obtained a doctor's degree in 1845. His ensuing activities at the University of Halle were preferentially devoted to comparative anatomy and a perfection of his skills in preparing scientific illustrations. In March 1852, he applied for the post of Charité Prosector which had become vacant due to Benno Reinhardt's (1819-1852) early death. He did so together with Busch (1826-1881), Meyer (1818-1887), Remak (1815-1865) and von Frantzius (1821-1877) whose careers are described. Meckel was chosen by ministerial decision. His appointment had been conditional upon his acquiring the qualification and status of an (unsalaried) university lecturer within a defined period so that he was in a position to take care of teaching as part of the Prosector's duties. This has to be seen as an obvious upgrading of the office of Charité Prosector. When Meckel took office, he probably suffered already from lung disease, like his predecessor. As a consequence, he had to concentrate his activity on teaching and could give only little impulse to the practice of pathology at the Charité. He died on 30 January 1856, presumably from tuberculosis of the lung.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Krietsch
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Institut für Pathologie, Universitätsklinikum Charité, Medizinische Fakultät, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Deutschland.
D000715:Anatomy / Q000266:history*; D001604:Berlin; D005180:Faculty, Medical; D049672:History, 19th Century; D006761:Hospitals / Q000266:history*; D006801:Humans
Zur Geschichte der Prosektur der Charité Berlin. 5. Mitteilung: Johann Heinrich Meckel von Hemsbach, Prosektor der Charité von 1852 bis 1856.