Proceedings of the Upsala Medical Society: How it all started 150 years ago

Abstract

Upsala läkareförening (The Upsala Medical Society) was founded in 1832 on the initiative of Professor Israel Hwasser, who was the chairman of the society until his death in 1860. The aims of the society were to promote medical science and create an atmosphere of friendship and collegiality among members of the faculty of medicine, medical students, andmedical practitioners. An important function was the library of foreign books and journals that the society brought together. At regular meetings, a student was elected for each occasion as a vice chairman, and he would read a paper about a topic of interest, such as a case of a disease, or report on an article from the medical literature. During the first 30 years, no minutes from these lectures were kept, but during the early 1860s short records of the content of these lectures were written. The first lecture relating to own research was given in 1864 by the young medical student Olof Hammarsten, later a famous professor of medical and physiological chemistry. The theme for his discourse was bile acids, a subject for which he was to become world famous.