The departmental chair in Western medicine: tale of the first and foremost. Historical vignette.

Abstract

The use of the term "chair" in medical literature probably started in the Late Middle Ages with the Italian anatomist Mondino de Liuzzi. History reveals the term's origin at Bologna, one of the oldest degree-granting universities in Europe. Nobody has been shown in documented literature before Mondino to have reached the level of chair, the zenith of hierarchy in Western scholastic medicine. Mondino is remembered for his preparation of the Anathomia, a compendium for medical scholars, and his description of several anatomical structures and their functions, especially from a forensic perspective. Starting out as a demonstrator displaying various anatomical structures to medical students, Mondino worked his way up to becoming the first documented chair in medical history, and indeed physically occupying the chair. Marking an epoch in academia with his revised method of medical teaching and creative interaction with surgical colleagues, he carved a niche for himself and his department with his illustrious chairmanship. The authors revisit the history of the "chair" as a title and position in the medieval anatomical period and discuss the career of the first and foremost in the documented medical literature.