A medical handling device which includes an instrument holder that supports and instrument and a robotic handling unit that supports the instrument hold, and a control device. The control device has a handling control unit that controls the robotic handling unit and an instrument control unit that controls the instrument. The control device has an interface for at least one input device. An input device is coupled to the interface. The input device is operable in a first operating mode to control the instrument and in a second operating mode to control the robotic handling unit. An enabling switch activates the second operating mode, in which the robotic handling unit is movable in response to input commands at the input device.