[The history of hepatology from Galen to Frerichs]

The history of research in hepatology reflects the development of medicine as a whole. Both demonstrate the importance of technical equipment as a prerequisite and the dependence upon the level of the adjoining sciences. The prominent achievements of some scientific schools and of outstanding scientists--concentrated in their publications--can be compared with annual rings of the permanently growing tree of knowledge in hepatology. In the presented paper the author outlines the essential scientific periods and the results achieved within two thousand years considering their close interrelations.