[Paracelsus and gynecology. 500 years ago Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim was born].

500 years ago Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, called Paracelsus, was born near Einsiedeln, the famous place of pilgrimage in Switzerland. Two gynecologists who later on became well-known medicohistorians--Bernhard Aschner (born in Vienna) and Paul Diepgen (born in Aachen)--created the basis for a summary of the etiopathogenetic ideas and therapeutic experiences of Paracelsus in gynecology. One must be aware of the fact that, living in a period between the Middle Ages and modern times, the great physician was not always able to differentiate between metaphysics and physics, e.g. in regard to menstruation, pregnancy, birth, tumors or hysteria. The hostility of his opponents and those who envied him during his lifetime as well as in the centuries after his death seems to continue today in a lack of respect for the great physician's privacy.