Constantin von Monakow: Vita Mea. Mein Leben

The establishment of research institutes devoted to the investigation of cerebral structure and function began during the 1880s in central Europe. Heinrich Ober-steiner, Paul Flechsig and Constantin von Monakow were pioneers in this development. The roots of this trend may be seen in the emergence of histological methods (sectioning and staining) and the pursuit of experimental neurophysiology and pathology during the latter half of the nineteenth century. As a result it became possible to investigate the internal organization and microscopic structure of the human brain, to endeavour to elucidate any relationship to cerebral function, and to apply any consequent knowledge to neuropsychiatric diagnosis and therapy. As research of this scope grew, it became clear to some investigators that special laboratories equipped for multidisciplinary studies would be needed. One of these far-sighted and enterprising investigators was Constantin von Monakow in Zurich. When he died on 19 October 1930, von Monakow left an autobiography which was deposited in the Central Library of Zurich, where it rested for four decades. Following the death of his last surviving daughter in 1967, several hundred letters addressed to von Monakow, as well as autobiographical sketches and various scientific manuscripts were turned over to the Zurich Medizinhistorisches Institut. In working up this material, the editors became aware of the manuscript autobiography , which they found to be not only of great importance for the history of medicine and science but also of great human interest. By publishing this document, which has been edited and provided with an introduction, as well as excellent explanatory footnotes and a bibliography, the editors have made a valuable contribution to the history of brain research. But they have put us even further in their debt by making it possible for a remarkable man to reveal much of himself to a later generation. Von Monakow was the scion of a noble Russian family, who overcame numerous difficulties and handicaps to achieve a worldwide reputation as a medical scientist. Having lost his mother at the age of four, he was raised by strangers, since his father more often than not was away on business and personal matters. In 1863, when von Monakow was ten, the family left Russia and after a short stay in Germany settled in Zurich. Upon completing his erratically conducted secondary schooling, he resolved to study medicine , a decision which contradicted his father's wishes and led to a complete break …