Heyll U
Institut für Geschichte der Medizin der Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf.
Dtsch Med Wochenschr. 2006 Dec 22;131(51-52):2920-4. doi: 10.1055/s-2006-957223.
In 1889, a chance observation made by Maximilian Mehl, an officer of the Berlin police force, lead him to develop a new method of treating Lupus Vulgaris with concentrated sunlight. Although first therapies proved the efficacy of this method, scientific medicine showed little interest. But Mehl found recognition among supporters of natural healing methods who saw their principles confirmed by his discovery. Mehl's tentative therapy was superseded by technological methods of sunlight treatment, as developed by the Danish doctor Niels Ryberg Finsen. In 1903 Finsen was awarded the Nobel Prize for his work while Mehl's discovery remained practically unknown. This episode in the history of medicine demonstrates how the recognition of a new method not only depends on criteria of its efficacy, but equally so on the degree of its conformity with preconceived notions and accepted standards.
1889年，柏林警察部队的警官马克西米利安·梅尔偶然观察到的一个现象，促使他开发出一种用聚光阳光治疗寻常狼疮的新方法。尽管最初的疗法证明了这种方法的有效性，但科学医学对此兴趣寥寥。但梅尔在自然疗法支持者中获得了认可，他们认为他的发现证实了他们的理念。梅尔的试验性疗法被丹麦医生尼尔斯·赖伯格·芬森开发的阳光治疗技术方法所取代。1903年，芬森因他的工作获得了诺贝尔奖，而梅尔的发现实际上仍不为人知。医学史上的这一事件表明，一种新方法的认可度不仅取决于其疗效标准，同样也取决于它与先入之见和公认标准的符合程度。
