Impotenz und Hexenglauben: Ein medizinischer Traktat des Ulmer Stadtarztes Wolfgang Reichart (1486–1547)

BACKGROUND: The belief in witchcraft influenced medical thinking and action in the 16th century. In a hitherto unknown treatise on impotence, the Ulmian town physician Wolfgang Reichart (1486–1547) has rationally explained it by using medical concepts. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The treatise was transcribed, translated, and analyzed in terms of its sources, structure, and content. The results were compared with the concept of Johann Weyer (1515–1588). RESULTS: Reichart explains his patient’s impotence as an acquired disease involving demons. Since demons act only naturally on the human body, the disease is naturally curable. The basis of the therapy is a medieval pathophysiological concept that combined ancient elements. CONCLUSIONS: Reichart’s therapy differs from that of contemporary physicians because he treats the patient himself and does not send him to a theologian. Unlike Weyer, he offers a detailed pathophysiological concept in order to explain impotence medically.