[Case histories and "medical statistics" 200 years ago--case notes by Jung-Stilling on his cataract operations 1773-1778].

Abstract

At the time of Goethe, Jung-Stilling (1740-1817) was highly regarded for his cataract operations. He had a general practice in Elberfeld from 1772 to 1778 and began to carry out his eye operations there. Unpublished, handwritten notes on 92 cataract operations were found only a short time ago in the library of the University of Basle. These notes show us that Jung-Stilling wrote proper case histories that correspond somewhat to the style we use today. Apparently these notes, Report on my cataract cures and healing methods of other eye diseases, formed the basis for the statistical result he published in Marburg in 1791 that represent his main medical work: Methods of taking out cataracts and of healing...