Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: Emperor Joseph II

  • The wax models of Clemente Susini (1752–1814)

    Clemente Susini is remembered for creating what is probably the most extensive collection of anatomical wax works in the world. He first studied sculpture in Florence, but in 1773 became an apprentice there at the museum of natural history in a workshop recently established to produce wax models for teaching anatomy. Within a few years…

  • Percussion of the chest: Leopold Auenbrugger

    Percussion for examination of the chest was first described in 1754 in a little book written in Latin as “a new discovery that enables the physician from the percussion of the human thorax to detect the diseases hidden within the chest.” At publication the book was ignored and percussion received little attention until popularized decades…