The institutionalization of asylum and forensic psychiatry in Bucharest, 19th century. A historical outline

Abstract

This historical note focuses on the development of psychiatry and forensic expertise in Bucharest between c. 1840 and 1910 under the influence of the European Schools of Medicine of the time. During the 19th century, psychiatry became part of a larger medical agenda, which included the establishment of public and private hospitals and asylums, public health reforms and social legislation for the protection of mentally ill, family planning and ultimately law regulations regarding forensic psychiatry. To date, the history of Romanian psychiatry and forensic medicine in Romania has been neglected, although it proves very resourceful for the understanding the complex relationship between science, political ideals and national contexts, both at a regional and international level. This note provides an insight into the inception of modern psychiatry institutions and scientific advances in Romania, and to the medically trained personalities in Bucharest and Eastern European medicine.

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