[Plagiarism techniques in practice journal Johannes Franc (1649–1725) and copying practice illustrated by urology texts].

In the seventeenth century it was customary in medicine to copy texts from other authors without citing the source. This practice is illustrated by the diary of Johannes Franc (1649–1725), a physician in the city of Ulm, who handwrote a practice journal in Latin and German Gothic script entering text passages plagiarized as follows: he reproduced them almost word for word in order to pass them off as his own experiences, used them as a model for his prescriptions and as a template for his case histories, and integrated them into his work to support his argumentation. In addition, he summarized texts from various sources, refined them by omitting portions, and incorporated his own experiences for embellishment. These plagiarism techniques and the purpose they served are analyzed and compared to some passages taken from the original texts.