Carl Peter Thunberg: Swedish Pioneer of Occidental Medicine in Japan

Abstract

Carl Peter Thunberg (1743-1828), a student of the famous Swedish botanist Carl Linné, visited Nagasaki and Edo in 1775-76.During his stay in Japan, he collected and named numerous plants and so has been called the father of Japanese botany.But he also taught western medicine to Japanese colleagues and introduced mercury in the treatment of syphilis.More than any person before him, he introduced Japan to the outside world.Thunberg deserves the credit of being the pioneer of occidental medicine and science in Japan. © 1982, The Japan Neurosurgical Society. All rights reserved.