Last update:
05-Jul-2004

History of Medicine was the first subject chosen in the syllabus of the Medical School of Athens National University, which was founded in 1837. The subject was taught by professor Anastasios Georgiadis-Lefkias who was also appointed to be the first Dean of the School. After the departure of professor Georgiadis in 1848, the subject was partially neglected as eminent professors in other specialties undertook its teaching and towards the end of the century, the History of Medicine was finally abandoned. This situation, even though annoyed many professors (S. Maginas, T. Afentoulis etc.), did not change because no suitable physician was found for many years, until 1902 when senior lecturer Aristotle Kouzis was appointed to the Department. Kouzis was subsequently elected professor in the History of Medicine in 1921 and proved to be a significant researcher and teacher for almost two decades. He confronted numerous problems during his tenure as professor, a characteristic example of which is the controversy in the 1930’s between the Ministry of Education and the Medical School of the University of Athens in relation to the History of Medicine Department. Investigation of the unpublished minutes of the Senate reveals that during 1932 the Ministry of Education, adducing financial reasons, tried to downgrade the Department from an ordinary chair to an extraordinary one. This attempt failed thanks to professor Kouzis who made a determined stand against the demands of the Ministry, formulating sound reasoning, namely that this decision would be contrary to the interest of the Medical School as well as to the common attitude of all the universities in the world, in the field of the History of Medicine. After Kouzis’ departure the subject was shared, once again being treated as a subsidiary subject to other specialties and was taught by senior lecturers until 1980 when a full professor in the History of Medicine was again elected. Thus, the subject of History of Medicine was not taught continuously and until today only three full professors have taught it; it seems that during some periods the lesson was partially neglected and moreover it faced many problems with the State. This may be explained by recognizing the nature of the rivalry between humanistic and technological studies in the field of medicine.

Key words: Anastasios Georgiadis-Lefkias, Aristotle Kouzis, Athens National University, History of Medicine, Ministry of Education.