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Last edited 
by the webmaster:
22-09-2006

DEPARTMENT OF PATHOLOGY AND FORENSIC VETERINARY  MEDICINE

Address: 1078 Budapest, István u. 2.
Phone and Fax: (+36 1) 478 4178
E-mail: mrusvai@univet.hu

Location

The Department of Pathology and Forensic Veterinary Medicine is in one of the old buildings (building E) in the main campus of the Veterinary Faculty.

Short history of the department

In 1787, at the time of the foundation of the Veterinary Medical Faculty of the Budapest University by Sándor Tolnay (1748-1818), pathology was not an independent subject, though the students performed post mortem examinations in the presence of the teachers already in the beginning. Among the outstanding personalities working at the department, the first professor teaching pathology as an independent subject was Márton Galambos (1820-1872) a physician and veterinarian of comprehensive knowledge, who besides teaching several subjects, prepared lecture notes also on pathology. His main field of interest was the pathology of rinderpest, an infection of great significance at that time. Following the fall of the Revolution and War of Independence of Hungary in 1848, the government banned him from teaching for a while, and pathology was temporarily taught by Ferenc Kudlik. In 1874 Kálmán Czakó (1843-1895) became the Head of the Department of Pathology. He studied at the Budapest and Kolozsvár Universities, then for two years worked abroad to broaden his knowledge. Afterwards he taught pathology on the basis of modern, scientific methods. István Rátz (1860-1917) also a physician and a veterinarian by education, became the Leader of the Department of Pathology in 1889. He learned from outstanding Hungarian scientists and went abroad for a study tour to Vienna and Berlin, where he worked in the group of Virchow. Returning home he refreshed the teaching and research activities, which reached a very high standard under his leadership, making him a recognized expert on the field of pathology both in Hungary and abroad. In 1913 he became a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. After his death Károly Jármai (1887-1941) continued to develop the education and research, and became a well known scientist especially due to his research on leukosis. He wrote a textbook both on general and systematic pathology. Gyula Sályi, veterinarian (1903-1970) took over the leadership of the Department of Pathology in 1941. His scientific achievement placed him amongst the best of those who developed veterinary pathology in Hungary. He had managed to achieve especially great success with his two high standard textbooks, and became a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 1962. In 1965 Andor Kardeván (1925) was nominated as Head of the Department of Pathology. He dedicated himself to teaching and introduction of new methods in pathology. His two excellent books are the basis for teaching veterinary pathology even nowadays.

Courses

Research activities

Teaching facilities

• Three dissection-rooms, and a histopathological practice-room with 16 microscopes serve the education of students.

Veterinary students (meeting the requirements of safety precautions) have a free entrance to the dissection rooms and may participate in the work, which helps to increase their independence and professional skill (“hands on approach”). Dissections are practised by several undergraduates not only during the obligatory practical courses but on a voluntary basis any time (including Saturdays) when at least one member of the academic staff is present to supervise the work.
Besides autopsies, the microscopic slide collection is also open for the students throughout the year, but unlike the dissection rooms which are frequented by several students day by day, the histopathological practice room is visited by student groups seasonally, mostly in the period preceding the histopathology exam.

• The teaching museum has 1141 wet and 320 dry pathological specimens. More then 8.000 dia-slides (most of them are colored), videocassettes and histopathological slides are also available.

The more then 8.000 diapositives illustrating the most characteristic alterations of the most important diseases furthermore the most delicate pathological cases of the last 30 years are under digitalisation presently (about half of the slides is digitalized and images are saved on CDs, but the work is hindered by the lack of finances), and after finishing the work the database will also be available for the students.