Forensic Medicine in Romania
Forensic medicine is the branch of medicine that makes it easier to establish the truth and ensures that the law is applied fairly. The institutional history of forensic medicine in Romania began in the second half of the 19th century, following the formation of the Romanian state in 1859 and the emergence of specialists trained at higher education institutions in the West. There are several names that stand out in the history of Romanian forensic medicine, with those of brothers Mina and Nicolae Minovici being essential. The two wrote pages of genuine medical heroism, earning the respect of both their contemporaries and posterity. The year 1892 marks the establishment of the first institute of forensic medicine in Bucharest.
Steliu Lambru, 03.10.2026, 14:00
Forensic medicine is the branch of medicine that makes it easier to establish the truth and ensures that the law is applied fairly. The institutional history of forensic medicine in Romania began in the second half of the 19th century, following the formation of the Romanian state in 1859 and the emergence of specialists trained at higher education institutions in the West. There are several names that stand out in the history of Romanian forensic medicine, with those of brothers Mina and Nicolae Minovici being essential. The two wrote pages of genuine medical heroism, earning the respect of both their contemporaries and posterity. The year 1892 marks the establishment of the first institute of forensic medicine in Bucharest.
The Minovici brothers were of Aromanian origin, born in what is now North Macedonia, and came from a wealthy family. All three brothers were born in Romania: the first two, Mina in 1858 and Ștefan in 1867, in Brăila, while the third, Nicolae, was born in 1868 in Râmnicu Sărat. All three studied medicine, but only the first and third devoted themselves to forensic medicine. Mina Minovici, the eldest, specialised in toxicology and became an assistant to Carol Davila at the School of Medicine and Pharmacy, founded by Davila himself.
Dr Octavian Buda is a psychiatrist at the “Mina Minovici” National Institute of Legal Medicine in Bucharest and a professor of medical history at the “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Bucharest. He told us about the relationship that developed between Mina Minovici and Carol Davila: “Mina Minovici had a very amusing memory of Carol Davila, who also carried out biochemical experiments and explained the various chemical reactions that took place. One of the challenges of 19th-century toxicology, as it is today, was identifying substances that caused poisoning when a doctor performed an autopsy on a corpse. At one point, Davila wanted to demonstrate that, for example, printing ink was not affected by chlorine gas. He took the newspaper Românul and put it into the chlorine-filled vessel, at which point the Frenchman Carol Davila told them: ‘Gentlemen, here you have proof that the Romanian does not perish even in chlorine!’ Carol Davila was a more direct, hot-tempered, even somewhat aggressive man, and he managed, initially, to set up a kind of post-secondary medical school.”
Although healers and doctors had been important in every type of human society, the importance of doctors in a developing Romania was becoming even greater. Forensic doctors, in turn, were becoming highly important within the architecture of the state and in the decisions being made. Octavian Buda: “One very important aspect concerns the way health measures were taken at urban level. In other words, forensic doctors contributed to public health policies in the city and were, of course, highly respected. They even had a say in matters related to the outbreak of epidemics at local level. Cholera, for example, was a major problem for the pathology of the time, and forensic doctors certainly had a role to play.”
Mina Minovici returned to Romania, where he found an atmosphere of intellectual emulation and favourable conditions for developing his discipline. Octavian Buda: “Minovici was interested, for example, in the problem of identifying substances that caused poisoning and suspicious deaths. In fact, as early as 1886-87, he already had the training that would later enable him to return to Bucharest and insist, with some determination, on the establishment of an institute of forensic medicine. Autopsies were being carried out in Bucharest, at Colțea Hospital and at Brâncovenesc Hospital. Two very serious and distinguished men were Alexandru Suțu, who came from the family of the Phanariot rulers and who was also trained in forensic medicine and psychiatry, and a Bulgarian, Gheorghe Atanasovici. He, too, taught forensic medicine in Bucharest, after which he went to Sofia and also held important political positions. He was a very well-known and highly respected figure in Bulgaria, but, interestingly enough, he first taught forensic medicine in Bucharest.”
The third Minovici brother, Nicolae, also became famous for the self-hanging experiment to which he subjected himself. Octavian Buda: “There are neurological aspects related to the deprivation of oxygen to the brain at the moment of strangulation. He was interested in the following: first of all, whether a person who is hanged struggles before the final moments, and whether it is possible to distinguish between someone who was murdered and then placed in a noose. There are certain characteristics. Unfortunately, there is also a very bizarre category of autoerotic accidents involving hanging. He was interested in this aspect as well: what happens in such cases? What are the mental and psychiatric states of those found dead, hanged in such circumstances? He wanted to examine, precisely, a kind of psychopathology of hanging. Obviously, the experiment was conducted under controlled conditions. In other words, he recorded every step, every second, and described in great detail what he felt. Nicolae Minovici is truly the prototype of a forensic doctor, in the fullest sense of the word. Mina Minovici was more of a toxicologist. Of course, Mina performed autopsies and practised forensic medicine, but he was something of a chemist who had turned to forensic medicine. Nicolae Minovici, the youngest of the three brothers, was also the smallest in stature and the most energetic. His first paper on forensic medicine was actually entitled The Technique of Autopsy.”
The rich history of Romanian forensic medicine is also on display in museums. And Nicolae Minovici’s private home is now one of them. (EE)
