History

The Medical Collection of the University of Zurich was initiated around 1915 as the private collection of the later assistant professor and first curator of the collection Dr. med. Gustav Adolf Wehrli (26 June 1888 – 18 January 1949). It has been the property of the canton of Zurich since 1932 and is curated by the University of Zurich.

In 1951 its existence prompted the foundation of the Institute of Medical History, which was discontinued in 2014. After a short period without affiliation the collection was assigned to the Institute of Evolutionary Medicine of the Medical Faculty of the University of Zurich in August 2016 and is currently being inventoried.

We are currently researching the beginnings of the collection in more detail. Initial results were presented in 2024 in the form of a lecture by Dr Sophie Ledebur and Dr Theresa Bayer at the 15th Annual Conference for University Collections from 13-15 June 2024. The publication of an article by Dr Sophie Ledebur is planned for 2025.