Hulusi Behçet and the appearance of Behçet's disease in medical literature

Hulusi Behçet (1889-1948) graduated from Military Medical School in 1910. After he completed his specialty training in dermatology and syphilology, he began to work in Kırklareli and Edirne Military Hospitals. In 1917 he went first to Budapest and then to Berlin for further trainings. After returning home, he had a private practice for a while then became the chief of Hasköy Dermatology and Venereal Diseases Hospital and the chief of dermatology clinic of Gureba Hospital respectively. After the Turkish university reform (1933) he also became a member of the academic staff of the university and kept this position until his death.In 1937, after a long study period, he combined the mucosal (oral and genital) aphtes known since Hippocrates and some ocular symptoms as the components of a disease and published several important studies about it. We may consider this achievement as the most important Turkish contribution for the medical world. In 1947, with the proposal of Professor Mieschner, this disease was named as ?Morbus Behçet? at the Geneva International Congress of Dermatology.This study consists of two main parts. The first part deals with Hulusi Behçet?s life story with a specific emphasis on his diverse professional and scientific studies. In the second part, the story of the appearance of Behçet?s Disease in the medical literature is told in detail with the help of Hulusi Behçet?s own papers. Hulusi Behçet?s life is interesting not because of his remarkable personality or his achievements but because it was spent during a period of major transformations in the world, in Turkey and particularly in the medical world.The details of the description of the Behçet?s Disease and Hulusi Behçet?s major role in this process is significant in the context of the current attempts for changing the name of the disease.