[History of veterinary medicine as a branch of learning--lessons and possibilities].

History of veterinary medicine--which has always been under-rated in the curricula--is the only discipline within the professional training of a veterinary surgeon which encompasses all subjects. It therefore has a uniting, virtually encyclopaedic, mediating function. The intention of a lecture must be to impart a historic view, to inspire the students to consider the responsibility which man has for animals, and to make them sensitive in their professional life for a critical reflection of the basic intellectual concepts of our time and our society beyond the limits of their knowledge of veterinary medicine. It is the veterinary surgeon's "professional culture"--and an essential part of it is the history of veterinary medicine and domestic animals--which demands that this permanent reflection be the basis for the meaningful work of a veterinary surgeon.