Personal physician
A personal physician (ancient Greek: ἀρχιατρός (archiatros) "senior physician", [composed of ἀρχή (archae) and ἰατρός (iatros)], Latin: archiater ; Middle High German: Liparzet) is a physician who is in the service of a high-ranking personality, for example a politician , King , president , pope or prince . He is responsible for the well-being of his patient and is usually obliged to be available for him around the clock.
Historical
The concept of personal physician (Physicus) has been historically documented since the early Middle Ages. The name "ἀρχιατρός (archiatros)" is first used in an inscription on Delos from the 2nd century BC. For the personal physician of King Antiochus VII . In the Roman Empire , from the 3rd century AD at the latest, the imperial personal physicians were officially called "archiatri Palatini".
Personal physicians mostly had academic training and were primarily responsible for the internal diseases of their patients over a longer period of time . In this way they differed from the surgeons (chirurgus), who were more practically trained and were mostly only consulted in battles or accidents or the like. Until well into the 14th century, the personal physicians came from the clergy, only after that their function was gradually taken over by people of bourgeois origin. Since the beginning of the Baroque era and the associated expansion of the universities, personal physicians have increasingly been recruited up to the present day from a growing number of multi-faceted university teachers , or from the group of established and experienced urban physicians, as well as nowadays from excellently trained, experienced specialists .
Position of personal physician
The position of the personal doctor was not always the same. Rather, it went through all stages of the social order: from the slave of a Roman ruler to the friend of a medieval emperor or the lover of a queen. The personal physician was not always an outstanding representative of his profession, but he always enjoyed a special position of trust that went far beyond the medical care of the high-ranking patient. At most of the royal houses the personal physician belonged to the court .
The use of the personal doctor was not only different at different times, it also varied from case to case. In addition to maintaining or restoring health as a matter of course, in ancient times and in the Middle Ages there was often also responsibility for food and drink. The personal doctor also had to accompany his master on trips. Every successful treatment of the high-ranking patient raised his reputation and usually also filled his wallet. Even imperial personal physicians in the Roman Empire can be assigned to the upper class and earned up to 500,000 HS ( sesterces ). In the event of failure, however, the opposite could easily occur: release, banishment , imprisonment , torture , mutilation or even the death penalty were the possible consequences of lost favor in earlier times. Not always only well-educated doctors rose to the rank of personal physician. Court protection sometimes made the selection, so that some charlatans can also be found in the ranks of this profession.
Even today, and especially due to the increasing media presence , personal physicians of outstanding personalities are increasingly under public scrutiny and are often held responsible for the well-being, therapy or even for the death of their protégés.
Selection of well-known personal physicians (chronological)
The personal physician in fiction
The figure of the personal physician is also a popular theme in works of fiction, for example in Antonio Cabanas , Ralf Günther , Heinz Konsalik , Paul Barz , and Per Olov Enquist .
literature
- Personal physicians: various authors, compiled by Otto Zekert, HMV yearbook 1958, (Heilmittelwerke Wien).
- Andreas Lesser : The Albertine personal physicians before 1700 and their relationships with physicians and pharmacists. Michael Imhof Verlag , 2015, ISBN 978-3-7319-0285-0 .
- Dominik Groß, Mathias Schmidt: Personal physicians: definition of terms - characteristics - lines of development. An outline of the problem , in: Mathias Schmidt, Dominik Groß and Jens Westemeier (eds.): The doctors of the Nazi leaders. Careers and Networks (= Medicine and National Socialism, Volume 5), Berlin and Münster 2018, pp. 23–35, ISBN 978-3-643-13689-3 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Antonio Cabanas: The Pharaoh's personal physician. German translation. 2007, ISBN 978-3-442-46405-0 .
- ↑ Ralf Günther: The personal doctor. Heyne-Verlag, 2006, ISBN 3-453-47068-0 .
- ^ Heinz G. Konsalik: The personal physician of the Tsarina. Verlag Naumann and Göbel, 2002, ISBN 3-625-16010-2 .
- ↑ Paul Barz: The king's personal physician. AtV-Verlag, 2002, ISBN 3-7466-1825-8 .
- ↑ Per Olov Enquist: The Personal Doctor's Visit . Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, Frankfurt am Main, 2005, ISBN 3-596-50892-4 .