Chapter 02 of 5
A Fatal Cut
A friend's death in the dissecting room revealed what doctors were carrying.
- The Return
Back from Venice
In March 1847 Semmelweis came back from a short trip to Venice to devastating news.
- The Friend
Jakob Kolletschka
His friend Jakob Kolletschka, a professor of forensic medicine, had died while he was away.
- The Accident
A slip of the scalpel
During an autopsy, a student's scalpel had accidentally cut Kolletschka's finger.
17 more cards in this chapter
Could you answer this?
What gave Semmelweis the key clue to childbed fever?
🧼 The Doctor Who Said Wash Your Hands
- 01The Two ClinicsWhy giving birth in one Vienna ward was far deadlier than in the ward next door.
- 02A Fatal CutA friend's death in the dissecting room revealed what doctors were carrying.
- 03Chlorine and SilenceThe handwashing rule that saved hundreds, and the doctors who refused to believe it.
- 04Calling Them MurderersA long-awaited book, a cold reception and a series of furious open letters.
- 05The Germ of TruthA lonely death, a vindication that came too late, and why we still talk about him.