This article addresses the formation of academic networks among anatomists in the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the late 19th century during the earliest part of their careers, their student years, at the capital’s university (University of Vienna), based on the example of the Galician anatomist Henryk Kadyi.

This comparative inquiry is based on archive material from the Lviv Regional State Archive, the Central State Historical Archives of Ukraine in Lviv (both Ukraine), the Archive of the University of Vienna, the Austrian State Archive (both Austria) and the Archives of the Jagiellonian University (Poland).

Archival sources show the variety of contacts a medical student could form within the anatomical community (both with teachers and student colleagues), which constituted the foundation for connections that lasted for an academic lifetime. The study demonstrates which knowledge, techniques, and methods were circulated within these newly formed anatomical networks. Kadyi was not a unique case but rather just one example of a broader dynamic among Galician students who came to Vienna.

Research on early-career networks is a promising approach for studying academic networks, especially their starting point, as the example of Henryk Kadyi proves. The importance of long-lasting contacts formed during an early academic career and their continued impact over the following years and decades cannot be overstated.

Anatomy History

University of Vienna

Lviv University

Austria-Hungary

19th Century

Academic Networks

Anatomical Teaching

© 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier GmbH.