![]() Frank’s intentions regarding the establishment of a “Pathological Anatomical Institute,” as well as an officially associated pathological anatomical collection were already successful one year after his arrival in Vienna in 1796. ![]() This was not to happen until 1795, as, firstly, the Lower Austrian sanitary consultant Josef Pasqual von Ferro (1753–1809) had applied for the creation of a pathological anatomical museum and issued an order to keep interesting specimens for demonstrative purposes, and, secondly, the German physician Johann Peter Frank (1745–1821), a pioneer of the public health service and hygiene aspects, was appointed to the Vienna General Hospital as director general. Despite these promising developments, the pathological anatomical science in Vienna could not (yet) establish itself institutionally, and the efforts to set up an anatomical museum were initially not successful. These specimens were found to remain in an “anatomical theatre” within the university area, which was newly built under Josef II. ![]() In the 1780s, this collection was recorded in a catalogue and significantly enlarged by the incorporation of anatomical pathological specimens of Ferdinand Leber (1727–1808) and by an intensified general collecting and preparation activity. For the first time, human anatomical tissue specimens were produced as a source of education these specimens also formed the basis for an intended Museum of Anatomy. One of the leading protagonists of this period was Gerard van Swieten (1700–1772), private physician of Maria Theresia and later founder of the older Vienna Medical School, who finally extended this regulation to all hospitals. This was also the time when, due to an imperial decree, all deceased bodies in the civic hospital and other social institutions were to be made available for anatomical teaching. Dissection courses for physicians themselves were not integrated into training until the first anatomy chair was established in 1735. In 1718, the medical faculty decided to build an “anatomical theatre” in the citizen’s hospital to demonstrate anatomical operations. ![]() Until around the middle of the 18th century, anatomy-like other theoretical subjects in medicine-was of only minor importance in the context of medical training. The history of the pathological-anatomical collection in Vienna (PASW-pathologisch-anatomische Sammlung Wien) is intricately linked to that of Viennese anatomy and pathology as well as to the Museum of Human Anatomy hence, we give a brief excursion on the complex development of these objects and institutions, with a strong personal reference to protagonists and curators (see among others ). Short history on the collection and origin of objects This article reviews the current medical issues on which research has been and is being conducted by including PASW specimens (hereby using the ICD-10 code), and the extent to and ethical conditions under which this important heritage could be used as a reference collection for clinical and bioanthropological (paleopathological and palaeoepidemiological) studies finally, this article reflects on the value and future research prospects, taking into account different positions and the ongoing discussions in pathological anatomical human tissue collections. Most of the tissue amassment represents wet organic specimens and human skeletons or skeletal elements representing, e.g., congenital and metabolic disorders, infectious diseases, injuries, neoplasms, or musculoskeletal diseases, basically collected as descriptive anatomical teaching aids. It houses a wide range of human wet and dry specimens and further objects, such as moulages, medical devices, microbiological and histological specimens, and a photo archive (approximately 50,000 objects), which, as a meaningful source, may contribute to disclosing not only aspects of the medical history and the development of corresponding museums in Vienna, but is also considered a collection of cultural and current scientific relevance, quite comparable to today’s biobanks. It was established as early as 1796 as part of the Medical University of Vienna, acquired the status of an independent federal museum in 1971, and was assigned to the Natural History Museum Vienna in 2012. The pathological anatomical collection Vienna ( Pathologisch-Anatomische Sammlung Wien PASW) is a living and still growing research collection.
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