Boerhaave, Hermann (1668-1738)

Dutch physician and chemist who made Leiden a European centre of medical knowledge. He re-established the technique of clinical teaching, taking his students to the bedsides of his patients. His Elementia chemiae 1732 presented a clear and precise approach to the chemistry of the day.

Boerhaave was born near Leiden, and studied there and at Haderwijk. He returned to Leiden as a physician, and also began teaching, eventually becoming professor of medicine, botany, ‘physic’, and chemistry.

Boerhaave described the structure and function of the sweat glands, and was the first to realize that smallpox is spread by contact.

Boerhaave's works remained authoritative for nearly a century. They include a physiology textbook, Institutiones medicae (a classification of diseases with their causes and treatment) 1708, Index plantarum 1710, and Historia plantarum, a collection of his botanical lectures compiled by his ex-students.