[Franz Joseph Gall and Johann Kaspar Spurzheim--forerunners of biological psychiatry].

Gall (1758-1828) and Spurzheim (1776-1832) were among those who developed the basic ideas of biological psychiatry. They attempted to identify a relationship between the structure and function of the brain. Although this led to speculation regarding physiognosis, it simultaneously represented a decisive step towards a scientific approach in psychiatry, which was then in its infancy. The patient was freed of gult. Mental illnesses were considered to be healable, because they were of organic origin, and this led to therapeutic optimism. The emphasis placed on endogenic factors, however, nourished biologistic views.