Medical ethics as a discipline was not taught systematically since 1952. Some ethical problems were, however, solved; the author presents therefore the history of medical ethics and reasons for and circumstances under which the Institute of Medical Ethics was created at the Third Medical Faculty in Prague. Workers of the mentioned department (H. Haskovcová, V. Spalek, J. Simek) after presentation of an exposé became the initiators of the new independent discipline. The text of the exposé is submitted in extenso. Since 1991 medical ethics are an independent medical discipline in the Czech Republic and lectures on the subject are part of the curriculum of medical students.