[Medical ethos of Paracelsus].

450 years ago the Renaissance doctor Theophrastus von Hohenheim called Paracelsus (1493-1541) died. Inspite of a famous name and his renowned challenging nature, his way of thinking and his work remain in many parts unknown. His professional ethics revolve around mercy, charity and his passion for medical art. In his book 'Paragranum' he waves the ethics as a virtue into his succint concept of a 'new topical and veritable medical science'. It is the aim to show the Paracelsian professional ethics in its timeless fundamentals, as in its very personal character.