Journals / Osmangazi Tıp Dergisi / 2026 / Cilt: 48 Sayı: Öğrenci Özel Sayısı 2026

Eduard Pernkopf's Atlas of Anatomy: Ethical Debates, Historical Issues, and a Contemporary Assessment of the Visual Legacy

Eduard Pernkopf'un Anatomi Atlası: Etik Tartışmalar, Tarihsel Sorunlar ve Görsel Mirasın Güncel Değerlendirmesi

Hakan Ay(ESKİŞEHİR OSMANGAZİ ÜNİVERSİTESİ)0000-0003-4638-0750
Pages
18–27
Publication Date
2026-08-14
🏛️Bibliographic metadata and full text access for this article are provided via DergiPark.
DergiPark Record ↗
✨

AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

Furthermore, it discusses the problem of ethical contamination in visual representations within the framework of the "tainted knowledge" concept and offers suggestions for future research.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:Eduard Pernkopf's "Topographische Anatomie des Menschen," first published in 1937 and which over time became an indispensable part of anatomy education worldwide, has been at the center of a profound ethical debate since the 1980s.
📊
Key Findings & Data:Pernkopf's Nazi identity, suspicions regarding the origin of the cadavers used, and ideological symbols in the illustrations have brought to light the dark past overshadowing the scientific achievement of the work.
💡
Conclusion & Impact:Furthermore, it discusses the problem of ethical contamination in visual representations within the framework of the "tainted knowledge" concept and offers suggestions for future research.
🔬Design:Review & Systematic Survey
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:Pernkopf Atlası · tıp etiği · Nazi tıbbı

Abstract

Eduard Pernkopf's "Topographische Anatomie des Menschen," first published in 1937 and which over time became an indispensable part of anatomy education worldwide, has been at the center of a profound ethical debate since the 1980s. Pernkopf's Nazi identity, suspicions regarding the origin of the cadavers used, and ideological symbols in the illustrations have brought to light the dark past overshadowing the scientific achievement of the work. The Pernkopf Atlas bears remarkable artistic and historical similarities to the Sobotta atlas, which is still widely used in medical education today. The shared contributions of artists such as Erich Lepier, who shaped the visual language of both works, brought these two atlases technically and aesthetically close; however, the Nazi symbols used by Lepier in his drawings for Pernkopf were concealed or removed in post-war editions and in other prestigious works such as Sobotta. This review comprehensively evaluates the ethical debates surrounding the Pernkopf Atlas, identifies gaps in the existing literature, and critically examines the traces of visual legacy that have permeated other anatomy atlases. Furthermore, it discusses the problem of ethical contamination in visual representations within the framework of the "tainted knowledge" concept and offers suggestions for future research.

Özet

1937 yılında ilk baskısı yapılan ve zamanla dünya genelinde anatomi eğitiminin vazgeçilmez bir parçası haline gelen Eduard Pernkopf'un Atlası, 1980'li yıllardan itibaren derin bir etik tartışmanın odağına yerleşmiştir. Pernkopf'un Nazi kimliği, kullanılan kadavraların kökenine dair şüpheler ve çizimlerdeki ideolojik semboller, eserin bilimsel başarısının gölgesinde kalan karanlık geçmişi gün yüzüne çıkarmıştır. Bu noktada Pernkopf Atlası, bugün hâlâ tıp eğitiminde yaygın olarak kullanılan Sobotta atlası ile dikkat çekici bir sanatsal ve tarihsel benzerlik taşımaktadır. Her iki eserin görsel dilini şekillendiren Erich Lepier gibi ressamların ortak çalışmaları, bu iki atlası teknik ve estetik açıdan birbirine yaklaştırmış; ancak Lepier'in Pernkopf için yaptığı çizimlerde kullandığı Nazi sembolleri, savaş sonrası baskılarda ve Sobotta gibi diğer prestijli eserlerde gizlenerek veya temizlenerek sunulmuştur. Bu makale, Pernkopf Atlası etrafındaki etik tartışmaları kapsamlı bir şekilde değerlendirmekte, mevcut literatürdeki eksiklikleri belirlemekte ve özellikle görsel mirasın diğer anatomi atlaslarına sızan izlerini eleştirel bir perspektifle incelemektedir.

🔖

Cite This Article

Ay, H. (2026). Eduard Pernkopf's Atlas of Anatomy: Ethical Debates, Historical Issues, and a Contemporary Assessment of the Visual Legacy. Osmangazi Tıp Dergisi, Cilt: 48 Sayı: Öğrenci Özel Sayısı 2026, 18–27. https://doi.org/10.20515/otd.1969718

📄 Full Text PDF Viewer

📄

PDF görüntüleyici hazırlanıyor...

References (29)

  1. Hubbard CJ. Eduard Pernkopf's atlas of topographical and applied human anatomy: The continuing ethical controversy. The Anatomical Record. 2001;265(5):207-11.
  2. Williams D. The History of Eduard Pernkopf's "Topographische Anatomie des Menschen." Journal of Biocommunication. 2021;45(1):2-12.
  3. Czech H, Druml C, Müller M, Voegler M, Beilmann A, Fowler N. The Medical University of Vienna and the legacy of Pernkopf's anatomical atlas: Elsevier's donation of the original drawings to the Josephinum. Annals of Anatomy - Anatomischer Anzeiger. 2021;237:151693.
  4. Atlas M. Ethics and access to teaching materials in the medical library: the case of the Pernkopf atlas. PubMed. 2001;89:51-8.
  5. Israel HA. Nazi origins of an anatomy text: the Pernkopf atlas. JAMA. 1996;276(20):1633.
  6. Angetter D. Anatomical Science at University of Vienna 1938-45. Journal of Biocommunication. 2021;45(1).
  7. Aharinejad S, Carmichael SW. First hand accounts of events in the laboratory of Prof. Eduard Pernkopf. Clinical Anatomy. 2012;26:297-303.
  8. Ernst E. A Leading Medical School Seriously Damaged: Vienna 1938. Annals of Internal Medicine. 1995;122(10):789-92.
  9. Bagatur E. Nazi Medicine—Part 2: The Downfall of a Profession and Pernkopf's Anatomy Atlas. Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research. 2018;476:2123-7.
  10. Djaldetti M. The Exodus of a Medical School. Annals of Internal Medicine. 1995;123(12):963-4.
  11. Pringle H. The Dilemma of Pernkopf's Atlas. Science. 2010;329(5989):274-5.
  12. Hildebrandt S. The Anatomy of Murder: Ethical Transgressions and Anatomical Science During the Third Reich. Journal of Biocommunication. 2021;45(1).
  13. Pandya SK. Pernkopf's atlas: Should unethically obtained life-saving data be discarded? Indian Journal of Medical Ethics. 2020;5:319-26.
  14. Seidelman WE. Medicine and murder in the Third Reich. PubMed. 1999;13:9-14.
  15. Malina P, Spann GA. [Senate's project at the University of Vienna, "Studies in anatomical science in Vienna from 1938-1945"]. PubMed. 1999;111:743-53.
  16. Weissmann G. Springtime for Pernkopf. Hospital Practice. 1985;20:142-68.
  17. Hildebrandt S. The Anatomy of Murder: Ethical Transgressions and Anatomical Science During the Third Reich. Journal of Biocommunication. 2021;45(1).
  18. Güzel H, Erbay H, Turamanlar O. A Controversial Page in the History of Anatomy: Pernkopf Atlas. Turkiye Klinikleri Journal of Medical Ethics-Law and History. 2021;29:258-63.
  19. Mages K, Lohr LA. Body of evidence: integrating Eduard Pernkopf's Atlas into a librarian-led medical humanities seminar. Journal of the Medical Library Association JMLA. 2017;105:173-8.
  20. Yee A, Zubovic E, Yu J, Ray S, Hildebrandt S, Seidelman WE, et al. Ethical considerations in the use of Pernkopf's Atlas of Anatomy: A surgical case study. Surgery. 2018;165:860-7.
  21. World Medical Association. WMA Declaration of Helsinki – Ethical principles for medical research involving human subjects. 2013.
  22. Coombs DM, Peitzman SJ. Medical Students' Assessment of Eduard Pernkopf's Atlas: Topographical Anatomy of Man. Annals of Anatomy - Anatomischer Anzeiger. 2017;212:11-6.
  23. Garrett R. What Should We Do About Eduard Pernkopf's Atlas? DigitalGeorgetown (Georgetown University Library). 1998.
  24. Panush RS, Briggs RM. The Exodus of a Medical School. Annals of Internal Medicine. 1995;123(12):963.
  25. Israel HA. Nazi origins of an anatomy text: the Pernkopf atlas. JAMA. 1996;276(20):1633.
  26. Elif E Perihan, Berna A. An Example of Anatomy Education Materials from 1931: Excellent Human Body Map. DergiPark (Istanbul University). 2015.
  27. Caplan AL. The Meaning of the Holocaust for Bioethics. The Hastings Center Report. 1989;19:2-3.
  28. Jones DG. Anatomy and ethics: an exploration of some ethical dimensions of contemporary anatomy. Clinical Anatomy. 1998;11:100-5.
  29. Caplan AL. How Should We Regard Information Gathered in Nazi Experiments? The AMA Journal of Ethic. 2021;23.