[Henry E. Sigerist: creation of medical historical study. An unpublished manuscript in the Zurich medical history institute].

In 1951 Henry E. Sigerist (1891-1957) wrote a manuscript paper on the structure of lectures on medical history. In this paper, which has remained unpublished yet, Sigerist's considerations are based on many years of experience in teaching in Leipzig and Baltimore. According to him, a lively medical history must always refer to current medicine. Furthermore, it should try to bridge the gulf between the arts, the social and the natural sciences. His proposal for a possible schedule includes an introductory course of lectures into medicine for beginners and a course on the history of medicine for advanced students. Lectures on medical ethics and sociology of medicine are also part of his programme. Finally, Sigerist stresses the fact that, in addition to these four lecture courses, seminars and a colloquy may provide students with the possibility of working on a specific subject in more detail.