[THE FIRST AUTOPSY IN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE] Makâlât-i tibbiyye. [i.e., Articles on medicine]. Translated by Efendizâde Abdülhak Hayrullah.

Complete title: [THE FIRST AUTOPSY IN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE] مقالات طبیّه / Makâlât-i tibbiyye. [i.e., Articles on medicine]. Translated by Efendizâde Abdülhak Hayrullah.

CARL AMBROISE [KARL AMBROS] BERNARD (1808-1844).

Takvimhane-i Âmire, Istanbul, AH 1259 = [CE 1843].

Contemporary marbled boards, later rebacked with a cloth spine. Demy 8vo. (22 x 15 cm). In Ottoman script (Old Turkish with Arabic letters). [4], 149 p., 6 folded pages. Lightly foxed, else a very good copy.

The first and only edition of this extremely rare book, including a description of the first modern forensic autopsy in the Ottoman Empire by Charles (Karl) Ambroise Bernard, the founder of the first modern medical school that modernized the medical education curriculum in the Islamic world, and the personal physician to Sultan Mahmud II and Sultan Abdülmecid Han.

With the Sultan’s permission and by special invitation, Dr. Bernard came to the Ottoman lands, where he founded the first modern medical school, Mekteb-i Tıbbiye-i Şahane, and modernized the curriculum of medical education. He later became the personal (court) physician to the Ottoman sultans. Despite his short life, Dr. Bernard produced four books based on his studies in Turkey (Journal of Harran University Faculty of Medicine).

In the Ottoman Empire, Dr. Bernard delivered the first formal lectures on forensic medicine to fifth- and sixth-year medical students. He is also credited with performing the first autopsy in the Ottoman Empire in 1843. During this period, however, requests for permission to conduct autopsies or exhumations in suspicious deaths were often rejected by the Sheikh al-Islam, the highest religious authority of the Ottoman state. Consequently, physicians had very limited opportunities to perform autopsies, which generally required direct permission from the Sultan.

The first modern forensic autopsy carried out as part of an official investigation was performed by Dr. Bernard in 1841 at the Austrian Hospital, after he obtained direct permission from the Sultan, on the condition that the autopsy be conducted only on the bodies of non-Muslims. The case involved a construction worker whose head was crushed when a large wooden beam fell on him. The translated report states:

“While a Croatian worker was gathering pieces of wood, a large beam fell on his head and he died immediately. His body was brought to the Austrian Hospital, where Monsieur Bernard, director of the Mekteb-i Tıbbiye-i Şahane, performed the autopsy. At the same time, I recorded the autopsy findings, and other medical students followed Monsieur Bernard’s examination. He found that the worker’s heart was twice the normal size, and that the aortic valves almost covered the entrance to the aorta. Nevertheless, the man had a stronger body than many healthy individuals, and his illness had not been previously known. He worked as a porter, carrying heavy loads daily, and never complained of any ailment while doing so.”

The book also includes another autopsy report, forming part of the 246th article titled “Helplessness and Laxity Pave the Way for Death.” In this case, Dr. Bernard performed an autopsy on an Austrian man named Luyi:

“As I recorded the autopsy findings, we observed inflammation of the stomach. Upon opening it, we discovered several metastatic foci. When we questioned a nurse about Luyi’s condition before his death, she stated that he was unable to think clearly, that his hands lacked sensation, and that he could not feel them.”

This rare medical book contains these autopsy records and notes, along with other medical articles by Dr. Bernard. The first autopsy report appears on page 52, and the second on page 91. (Sources: Dr. Charles Ambroise Bernard: Beginning of Forensic Autopsy in Turkey by Batan et al.; History of Forensic Medicine in Turkey by Cem Uysal.)

Charles Ambroise Bernard (Karl Ambros in German sources) was an Austrian physician and medical school director (Türkischer Biographischer Index). He was also the founder of forensic medicine and other modern medical sciences, as well as of modern medical education, in the Ottoman Empire.

Özege 11991.; TBTK; 13098.; Three records in OCLC in total in two different registers, Bogaziçi University Library, Hungarian Academy of Sciences Library, and Library of Congress. OCLC 952855689 / 949488288.