By the second half of the 19th century at the latest, the scientific methods of physiology, clinical chemistry and physics formed a new basis for clinical diagnostics. The transformation of the hospital in Germany is essentially linked to the name of Johann Lukas Schönlein. Schönlein initiated and accomplished the transition from a natural-philosophical to a scientific approach to medicine. He was the first in Germany to use and teach auscultation and percussion. Schönlein not only introduced physical diagnostics, but also promoted microscopic, chemical and physiological research at the bedside. After years of successful work in Würzburg and Zurich, Schönlein was appointed to Berlin in 1890 on the recommendation of Johannes Müller. With Schönlein and Müller as well as their numerous students, a new generation of scientifically oriented physicians was established.