"Almost every German university hospital has a chair of psychosomatic medicine," noted the obituary for pioneering clinical biosemiotician Thure von Uexküll upon the occasion of his death at age 96 in 2004. "German medical students are obliged to attend courses in medical psychology, sociology, and psychosomatic medicine, and more than 7,000 beds in German rehabilitation hospitals are devoted to the treatment of patients with psychosomatic disorders," the obituary continued, concluding that "the unique position of psychosomatic medicine in Germany – in comparison with other European countries – is largely due to the continuous engagement of Thure von Uexküll" (British Medical Journal 2004: 1047).