Originalartikel: Lægeløftets historie
Martin Ejsing Christensen
A history of the Danish doctor’s oath
Bibl Læger 2011;203:98-134.
Not much is known about the history of the Danish doctor’s oath. However, according to the traditional view it was formulated by the Danish physician Johan Daniel Herholdt (1764-1836) in 1815 and inspired by the Hippocratic oath. By drawing on an abundance of primary and archival sources, the article offers a detailed narrative on the history of the Danish doctor’s oath and suggests that the common opinion should be modified. Even though Herholdt indeed played a central role in the process, the idea of the oath originated from his colleague, Heinrich Callisen (1740-1824), and was actually not primarily inspired by the Hippocratic oath, rather by the oaths of office that every officer in the autocratic Danish state had to pledge. The article also demonstrates how a clause that forbids the disclosing of confidential information was added in 1902 as a result of the active and self-confident Danish Medical Association’s struggle to protect and pursue its own interests against the state. At the same time, it was decided to make the pledge more ceremonious, as the number of doctors was rapidly increasing and it was believed that a solemn ceremony might diminish internal struggle and competition by creating a common medical bond.
Fra scrapbogen: »D’Herrer Læger bedes undgaa Forfalskninger«
Redaktionen
Et billede fra min hverdag
Benedict Kjærgaard
Originalartikel: Veterinærvidenskaben i Danmark
— Et kort rids i anledning af fagets 250-års-jubilæum
Aage Kristian Olsen Alstrup
Veterinary science in Denmark. A short sketch on the occasion of its 250 years anniversary.
Bibl Læger 2011;203:148-57.
The world’s first veterinary school was founded in Lyon, France, in 1761. It was established by a French horse specialist, Claude Bourgelat (1712-1779), after an order from King Ludvig 15th (1710-1774). Two years later the first three Danish students arrived in Lyon with the purpose of studying veterinary science. Among them was medical student Christian Peter Abildgaard (1740-1801), who after his medical and veterinary training in France practised as a medical doctor in Copenhagen. In 1773, however, he established the Danish Veterinary School in Copenhagen as the first veterinary school in Scandinavia. The school is still vibrant and was merged with Copenhagen University in 2007.
Kvartalets genstand
Morten A. Skydsgaard
Originalartikel: Ligklædet i Torino
— En videnskabelig udfordring
Niels Svensson
The Turin Shroud – a scientific challenge.
Bibl Læger 2011;203:160-87.
The Shroud of Turin is a 4,42 × 1,14 m linen cloth kept in the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Turin, Italy. A faint, double image of a naked, seemingly crucified man is depicted on the cloth. The Shroud is venerated by many as the actual burial cloth of Jesus of Nazareth, reflecting the Passion as described in the Gospels. In 1978, a multidisciplinary, scientific investigation by physicists, chemists and physicians took place. The team stated that the carmine stains on the cloth consisted of real, human blood and that the image was formed by a hitherto unknown radiation process which had chemically altered the cellulose by dehydrative oxidation. In 1988, the Shroud was carbon-14 dated to the Middle Ages. However, subsequent investigation of the sample area has revealed that this area was not representative of the whole Shroud, rather a mended area, which skewed the dating. Art history, history and textile characteristics trace the cloth back to the first century, whereas limestone remnants and pollen embedded in the cloth link it to Jerusalem. Last but not least the Turin Shroud man has (from a forensic point of view) endured exactly the same sufferings as Jesus of Nazareth.
Forside: Frelserens liglagen omgivet af engle. Detalje fra maleriet »Jesu begravelse« af den italienske maler Gerolamo della Rovere (1605-1637) (Galleria Sabauda, Torino).