Description

The performance and study of autopsies followed a long and winding path before it gained acceptance in the Ottoman Empire. The story started with the efforts of Dr. Karl Ambros Bernard who had to struggle to obtain an imperial license to perform the first autopsy in the country in 1840. His determination paid off, as he was eventually allowed to regularly conduct further port-mortem exams with his students at the Imperial Medical School. Later generations of Ottoman students were additionally able to hone their studies of human anatomy through publications featuring attractive, movable images.

The present work, which features colourful lithographed representations of the human body, composed of folding pieces, is predicated upon work which became popular in Europe from around 1900. The anatomical images used in such early Ottoman lithographed medical books were almost invariably imported from France, and later Germany. Here the accompanying text is printed in both Ottoman and French, formerly the universal science language in the empire. The parallel languages not only gave students the possibility to learn various terms, but also enabled them to study abroad once the Ottoman language replaced French in instruction at Ottoman medical schools.

We could not trace any institutional examples on Worldcat.

References: ÖZEGE: 13747.