Johann Ludwig Choulant (12 November 1791 – 18 July 1861) was a German physician from the Kingdom of Saxony who was a professor of Medicine at

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

medical historian The medical history, case history, or anamnesis (from Greek: ἀνά, ''aná'', "open", and μνήσις, ''mnesis'', "memory") of a patient is information gained by a physician by asking specific questions, either to the patient or to other peo ...

and contributed to the study of the history of medicine. He was the father of

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Ludwig Theodor Choulant (1827–1900). He trained initially in pharmacy before shifting to medicine. A student of classical languages, he examined old works on medicine and produced an influential history of medical illustration which was translated into English by Mortimer Frank and others in 1920.

Life and work

Choulant was born in Dresden, the son of a master cook in the service of Antony of Saxony. He studied at the Catholic school in Dresden and then to the Gymnasium. In 1807 he dropped studies and went to apprentice at the Royal Pharmacy. In 1811 he went to study medicine at the Collegium Medico-chirurgicum in Dresden where he studied under Hedenus, Kreysig and Ohle. In 1813 he went to the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...

, where he was influenced by studies under Ernst Platner. This was followed by work in 1817 as a physician/ obstetrician in

Altenburg Altenburg () is a city in Thuringia, Germany, located south of Leipzig, west of Dresden and east of Erfurt. It is the capital of the Altenburger Land district and part of a polycentric old-industrial textile and metal production region betw ...

. He graduated with a dissertation on spinal deformities in March 1818. During the same year he joined the staff at the ''Medizinischen Realwörterbuch'' of Johann Friedrich Pierer (1767–1832). In 1821 he was a physician at the Königlichen Katholischen Krankenstift in Dresden-Friedrichstadt. In 1822 he began work as a lecturer at the Königlich Chirurgisch-Medizinische Akademie (Royal Surgical-Medical Academy) in Dresden, where during the following year he became a professor of theoretical medicine. In 1828 he became a professor of practical medicine, and from 1843 to 1860 was rector of the Royal Surgical-Medical Academy. From 1844 onward, he served as medical officer in the Saxon Ministry of the Interior and served a privy councilor to the king. Trained in Latin and Greek, he translated material from English and Italian into German. He produced a bibliography of ancient medicine. In addition to his work involving the history of medicine, Choulant made many contributions to the Saxon ''Medizinalordnung'' (medical code). His textbook on internal medicine went through six editions. In 1823 he began work as an associate editor of the journal ''Zeitschrift für Natur- und Heilkunde''. A major work was on the history of anatomical illustration which he published in 1852. It was translated into English by Mortimer Frank and others in 1920. He suffered from cerebrovascular attacks, first in 1858 which led to facial paralysis. He had a second stroke which paralyzed his tongue. His health declined and he died in 1861. His autopsy was conducted by Friedrich Albert von Zenker.

Published works

* ''Bereicherungen für die Geburtshilfe, für die Physiologie und Pathologie des Weibes und Kindes''. with

Friedrich Ludwig Meissner Friedrich Ludwig Meissner (25 August 1796, in Leipzig – 4 December 1860) was a German obstetrician, gynecologist and pediatrician. He studied medicine in Leipzig, earning his PhD in 1819. From 1821 he taught classes at the University of Leipzig ...

(1796-1860), M. Küstner and Karl Friedrich Haase (1788-1865), (Enrichment for

obstetrics Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surgi ...

, on the

physiology Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...

and

pathology Pathology is the study of the causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in ...

of women and children); 1821. * ''Tafeln zur Geschichte der Medizin'' (Tables on the history of medicine); 1822. * ''Lehrbuch der speziellen Pathologie und Therapie des Menschen'' (Textbook on special

and

therapy A therapy or medical treatment (often abbreviated tx, Tx, or Tx) is the attempted remediation of a health problem, usually following a medical diagnosis. As a rule, each therapy has indications and contraindications. There are many different ...

of man); 1831. * ''Anleitung zur ärztlichen Rezeptierkunst'' (Manual for medical dispensing); second edition 1834. * ''Anleitung zur ärztlichen Praxi'' (Guide to the medical practice); 1836. * ''Handbuch der Bücherkunde für die ältere Medizin''; second edition 1841. * ''Bibliotheca medico-historica''; 1841. * ''Geschichte und Bibliographie der anatomischen Abbildung'' (History and

bibliography Bibliography (from and ), as a discipline, is traditionally the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology (from ). English author and bibliographer John Carter describes ''bibliography ...

of anatomic illustration); 1852. * ''Die Anfänge wissenschaftlicher Naturgeschichte und naturhistorischer Abbildung im Abendland'' (The beginnings of scientific natural history and natural history illustration in the West); 1857. * ''Graphische Inkunabeln für Naturgeschichte und Medizin'' (Graphical

incunabula In the history of printing, an incunable or incunabulum (plural incunables or incunabula, respectively), is a book, pamphlet, or broadside that was printed in the earliest stages of printing in Europe, up to the year 1500. Incunabula were pro ...

for natural history and medicine); 1858.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Choulant, Johann Ludwig Physicians from Dresden German medical historians 19th-century German physicians 1791 births 1861 deaths German male non-fiction writers