ABSTRACT
It is a well-known fact that the Leiden medical faculty was the early eighteenthcentury centre of medical excellence, attracting students from all over Europe. At the same time, however, it is hard to put a finger on what exactly made the Leiden medical faculty so very popular. The story usually told has it that Leiden was attractive due to its hands-on bedside teaching. And the famous medical teacher Herman Boerhaave (1668-1738) is generally considered the spiritus rector of a great increase in quality.
