ARTICLE
Dr. Hulusi Behçet (1889-1948) is a famous Turkish dermatologist.
He was born in Istanbul on February 20, 1889. His father was Ahmet Behçet
and his mother Ayqse Behçet was also Ahmet's cousin.
After the Turkish Republic was established and the "Family Name Law" was
accepted, his father Ahmet Behçet, who was among the friends of
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of Turkish Republic, received
private permission to use his father's name Behçet. Dr. Hulusi
Behçet pursued his education at Gülhane Military Medical Academy.
After he had become a medical doctor, he specialized in dermatology and
venereal disease at Gülhane Military Medical Academy and he completed
his specialization in 1914. His first observations on Behçet's
Disease started with a patient he met between 1924-1925. Dr. Behçet
followed the symptoms of three patients whom he had had for years, then
he decided that they were the symptoms of a new disease (1936). He published
these cases in the Archives of Dermatology and Veneral Disease. He died
from a sudden heart attack on March 8, 1948. Today, this disease is universally
called Behçet's Disease in medical literature.
Key words: Dr. Hulusi Behçet, Behçet's disease.
Hulusi Behçet, MD, who is a famous Turkish dermatologist, has
gained an important position in medical history by publishing the three
cases of Behçet's disease in 1937. In this manuscript, we will
try to commemorate him with a short biography (Fig. 1).
Hulusi Behçet, who was born in Istanbul on February 20, 1889,
was the son of Ahmet Behçet, the superintendent of schools. His
mother, Ayqse Behçet, was the cousin of Ahmet Behçet.
He started elementary school in a French school in Beyrut in 1895. In
1901, he started his education in Kuleli Military Medical School, and
he graduated in 1910. He worked as an assistant in the dermatology department
of Gülhane Military Hospital with famous professors, such as Eqsref
Ruqsen, Talat Çamlž, and Resat Ržza. He
was assigned to the position of vice chief of staff of Kžrklareli
Military Hospital in July, 1914. He worked as a consultant dermatologist
in the Edirne Military Hospital until 1918. In August, 1918, he worked
as a voluntary assistant of Blumenthal and Cherevsesky in the Charité
Hospital, department of dermatology and syphilis, first in Budapest and
then in Berlin. In October 1919, he returned to Turkey and worked as a
private dermatologist. He was assigned to the position of chief of staff
of the Hasköy Venereal Diseases Hospital in 1923. After 6 months,
he moved to Istanbul Vakžf Guraba Hospital. He became a professor
(he was one of the first professors in Turkey) and director of
the Istanbul University department of dermatology and venereal diseases
in 1933. After the Law of Surnames, he was given his father's name, Behçet,
as a surname by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Atatürk wrote to him
with his own handwriting, "Behçet: the word of brilliance over
a wide area. Very brilliant, means beautiful". Hulusi Behçet, who
received the title of distinguished professor in 1939, died of a heart
disease in March 8, 1948, at the age of 59. His tomb is in the Zincirlikuyu
cemetery.
Medical studies of Dr. Hulusi Behçet
The disease, currently known all over the world as "Behçet
disease", "Behçet syndrome", "Behçet's triad", "Tri-symptom
Behçet", "La maladie de Behçet" or "Morbus Behçet",
was first recognized by Hulusi Behçet in 1924. After his careful
observations, he decided that the symptoms he had recognized were the
symptoms of a single and different disease. Actually, Hulusi Behçet
and many other Turkish or German doctors working in Turkey were making
researches on this disease. The first observation of Hulusi Behçet
started with a patient in 1924. This patient, who had been examined because
of eye disturbances, recurrent oral and genital ulcers both in Istanbul
and Vienna for 40 years, was given several different diagnoses. Some doctors
thought of tuberculosis or syphilis, while some other doctors said a microorganism
which was not present in Europe might have caused the disease. Hulusi
Behçet, who continued to examine the patient after his loss of
vision, thought that the causative agent was a virus. In 1930, a woman
patient presented with oral and genital ulcers and eye redness. Hulusi
Behçet, who followed-up the patient until 1935, could not get any
specific results, although he searched for tuberculosis, fungus, syphilis
and other disease agents and he biopsied. Another male patient, who had
visited the dentist because of deep oral ulcers in 1936, was sent to Hulusi
Behçet. Symptoms similar to those seen in the previous patients
were also seen in this patient. Hulusi Behçet, who could not get
a specific diagnosis in spite of all his examinations, decided that the
causative agent was a virus. He started his studies on viruses with the
support of Hugo Braun, who was researching in microbiology at that time
in Turkey. Niyazi Ismet Gözcü, who was chief of the Gülhane
Hospital, reported another patient with primarily eye symptoms to Hulusi
Behçet. When Erich Frank, a German doctor working in Turkey, reported
another patient who showed all of the symptoms, the number of patients
reported from Turkey reached five. Hulusi Behçet reported his ideas
on this topic firstly in 1936, in the Journal of Skin and Veneral Diseases
and later, in 1937, at the meeting of the Society of Paris Dermatology,
in Dermatologische Wochenschrift, and in Zentralblatt der Haut und Geschlechtskrankheiten.
Prof. Albert Marchionini, who evaluated his data, named "Hulusi Behçet
syndrome". The most important proceeding about the name of the disease
was first held in the International Congress of Dermatology, in Geneva,
in September 1947. The disease, which presented with oral and genital
recurrent ulcers, was named as "morbus Behçet" (Behçet
disease), at the suggestion of Prof. Miescher and approval of the
congress participants.
The personality of Dr. Hulusi Behçet
Prof. Arif Ismet Çetingil, who is an internist, quotes his memories
and impressions of the personality of Hulusi Behçet as follows
(1983): "Dr. Hulusi Behçet was a very hard working, clever,
competent doctor. He had foresight in his works. He always walked around
with the dermatology books under his arms. The most important thing for
him was science. The contention he gave for the acceptance of the disease
by his name in the world literature was appreciable. By his studies, he
demonstrated the disease to be unique. The last name "Behçet" was
given by Atatürk, who was the founder of Turkish Republic. Behçet
did not drink and did not like night-life. The only thing he did was to
read and work."
Pr. A. Lütfü Tat quotes (1985): "Hulusi Behçet had
a very honest and straightforward style as a doctor. He did not gave assent
to those patients who presented to his private office for the hospital.
He was very hard on the personal and assistants. However, he did not neglect
to take precautions about their financial problems. He sent his hard-working
assistants to his private patients for dressing wounds and injections,
and by this way, he showed his confidence in them."
Pr. Schwartz, a famous pathologist, portrayed him as being internationally
well-known and quoted "You cannot find him in his country, because
he reports his works internationally".
The academic activities of Hulusi Behçet
There exist : 137 scientific papers, 2 medical books, 12 monographies
and 17 medical translations of Dr. Hulusi Behçet [1, 2].
A complete list of the publications of Dr. Hulusi Behçet is available
by writing to the author of this article, Dr. C. Üstün.
References
1. Loevy HT, Kowitz A. Health sciences on stamps. J Am Den
Ass 1981; 102: 200.
2. Kyle RA, Shampo MA. Dr. Hulusi Behçet. JAMA
1982; 247: 1925.
|
|
|
|
Figure 1. Dr. Hulusi
Behçet. |
|
|
Printable version