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Contribution of Dr. Ilza Vaith in Field of Pediatrics

Shubham S. Gaikwad, Kasumbiwal Ajay H, Male Rohit H, Tukaram Narwate B

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Attribution-Non-commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

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Pediatric Education and Research 13(2 (Special Supplement -I)):p 264-267, July-December 2025. | DOI: 10.21088/per.2321.1644.13225.57

How Cite This Article:

Kasumbiwal Ajay H., Male Rohit H., Tukaram Narwate B., et al. Contribution of Dr. Ilza Vaith in Field of Pediatrics. Pediatr. Edu. Res. 2025; 13(2): 264-267.

Timeline

Received : November 29, 2025         Accepted : December 30, 2025          Published : December 30, 2025

Abstract

Dr. Ilza Veith (1912–2013) was a pioneering medical historian whose life and scholarship bridged cultures, disciplines, and historical paradigms. Born in Germany, she fled Nazi persecution with her husband in 1935 and later continued her education in the United States. Under the mentorship of Henry E. Sigerist at Johns Hopkins University, she became the first person in the U.S. to earn a Ph.D. specifically in the history of medicine. Her landmark dissertation, a translation and analysis of the Huangdi Neijing (Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic), introduced Western scholars to foundational concepts in traditional Chinese medicine and established her as a leading figure in cross-cultural medical studies Veith’s academic career spanned major institutions such as the University of Chicago and the University of California, San Francisco, where she held influential teaching and administrative roles. She gained widespread recognition for Hysteria: The History of a Disease (1965), which offered the first comprehensive historical analysis of hysteria and shaped modern understandings of psychiatric historiography. Key Messages: Ilza Veith, a pioneering medical historian, escaped Nazi Germany and became the first U.S. Ph.D. in the history of medicine. Her translation of the Huangdi Neijing and groundbreaking study of hysteria reshaped cross-cultural medical scholarship, while her resilience and interdisciplinary work left a lasting global legacy

References

  • 1.   Numbers R.L. Ilza Veith (1915–2013). J Hist Med Allied Sci. 2014; 69(1): 157–159.
  • 2.   Veith I. Hysteria: the history of a disease. Chicago: University of Chicago Press; 1965. pp. 1–307.
  • 3.   Veith I. The Yellow Emperor’s classic of internal medicine. Berkeley: University of California Press; 1949. pp. 1–260.
  • 4.   Veith I. Can you hear the clapping of one hand? Learning to live with a stroke. New York: Dodd, Mead & Co.; 1988. pp. 1–198.
  • 5.   Warner J.H., editor. The history of science and medicine: essays in honor of Ilza Veith. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press; 1988. pp. 1–412.
  • 6.   Kiple K.F., editor. The Cambridge world history of human disease. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 1993. pp. 1–1176.

Data Sharing Statement

There are no additional data available. All raw data and code are available upon request.

Funding

This research received no funding.

Author Contributions

All authors contributed significantly to the work and approve its publication.

Ethics Declaration

This article does not involve any human or animal subjects, and therefore does not require ethics approval.

Acknowledgements

We would like to express our gratitude to the patients, their families, and all those who have contributed to this study.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

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Cite this article

Kasumbiwal Ajay H., Male Rohit H., Tukaram Narwate B., et al. Contribution of Dr. Ilza Vaith in Field of Pediatrics. Pediatr. Edu. Res. 2025; 13(2): 264-267.

Licence:

Attribution-Non-commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

This license enables reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator.

Received Accepted Published
November 29, 2025 December 30, 2025 December 30, 2025
DOI: 10.21088/per.2321.1644.13225.57

Keywords

Ilza VaithMedical HistorianHistory of medicineNazi German EscapeJewish refugeesHans von Valentine VeithJohns Hopkins UniversityPh.D. history of MedicineChinese medicineTraditional East Asian MedicineMedical TranslationHistography of mental illnessMedical Ethics

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Timeline

Received November 29, 2025
Accepted December 30, 2025
Published December 30, 2025

licence

Attribution-Non-commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

This license enables reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator.


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