Johann Nepomuk Rust (5 April 1775 – 9 October 1840) was an Austrian

surgeon In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Even though there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is a licensed physician and received the same medical training as physicians before spec ...

and military physician born at

Jánský Vrch Jánský Vrch () is a castle located in the Jeseník District in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. The castle stands on a hill above the town of Javorník in the north-western edge of Czech Silesia, in area what was a part of the Duchy ...

, Javorník,

Austrian Silesia Austrian Silesia, officially the Duchy of Upper and Lower Silesia, was an autonomous region of the Kingdom of Bohemia and the Habsburg monarchy (from 1804 the Austrian Empire, and from 1867 the Cisleithanian portion of Austria-Hungary). It is la ...

(today in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

Biography

He studied medicine in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, earning his degree in

obstetrics Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a su ...

in 1799 and a doctorate in surgery in 1800. Afterwards he worked briefly in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, and later taught classes at the Lyceum in Olomouc. From 1803 to 1810 he was a professor of surgery at the

University of Kraków The Jagiellonian University (, UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and one of the oldest universities in continuous operation in the wor ...

, where he established a local surgical clinic. In 1810 he was named chief surgeon at the ''

Allgemeines Krankenhaus The Vienna General Hospital (), usually abbreviated to AKH, is the general hospital in Vienna, Austria. It is also the city's university hospital, and the site of the Medical University of Vienna. It is Europe's fifth largest hospital, b ...

'' in Vienna.''Archiv der Europäischen Lexikographie:Geschichte der Medizin''
Johann Nepomuk Rust's Theoretical-practical textbook of surgery by Michael Stolberg In 1815 he became a member of the Prussian military as a physician. The following year he became director of the new surgical/

ophthalmological Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...

clinic at the

Charité The Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Charité – Berlin University of Medicine; ) is Europe's List of hospitals by capacity, largest university hospital, affiliated with Humboldt University of Berlin, Humboldt University and the Free ...

, as well as adjunct professor at the medical-surgical military academy in Berlin. In 1822 he was awarded with the military title of

Generalstabsarzt and are Two star rank, "two-star" ranks and the second highest ranks in the medical service of the German Bundeswehr. Equivalent ranks in the are and in the . Bundeswehr and are the second highest ranks of the Joint Medical Service (G ...

(Surgeon General), and in 1824 became a full professor at the

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

. In 1834, he was elected a foreign member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences () is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for promoting nat ...

. In 1837 he was appointed director of surgical and

pharmaceutical Medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal product, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy ( pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the ...

studies at the university. Among his literary works was a highly acclaimed multi-volume textbook on surgery titled "''Theoretisch-praktisches Handbuch der Chirurgie, mit Einschluss der syphilitischen und Augen-Krankheiten''" (1830–1836). In 1816 he became editor of the "''Magazins für die gesammte Heilkunde''". Towards the end of his career, he suffered from failing eyesight, and consequently most of his later surgical operations were performed by

Johann Friedrich Dieffenbach Johann Friedrich Dieffenbach (1 February 1792 – 11 November 1847) was a German surgeon. He was born in Königsberg and died in Berlin. Dieffenbach specialized in skin transplantation and plastic surgery. His work in rhinoplastic and maxill ...

(1792–1847). He died in 1840 on his estate Schloss Kleutsch oday: Kluczowanear

Ząbkowice Śląskie Ząbkowice Śląskie ( ; ) is a town in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of Ząbkowice Śląskie County and of a local municipality called Gmina Ząbkowice Śląskie. The town lies approximately south of the ...

in Silesia, Prussia.

Associated eponym

* Rust's disease:

Tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

of the two upper

cervical vertebra In tetrapods, cervical vertebrae (: vertebra) are the vertebrae of the neck, immediately below the skull. Truncal vertebrae (divided into thoracic and lumbar vertebrae in mammals) lie caudal (toward the tail) of cervical vertebrae. In sauropsid s ...

e and their articulations; synonymous to

tuberculous spondylitis Pott's disease, or Pott disease, named for British surgeon Percivall Pott who first described the symptoms in 1799, is tuberculosis of the spine, usually due to haematogenous spread from other sites, often the lungs. The lower thoracic and upp ...

.Mondofacto Dictionary
(definition of eponym)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rust, Johann Nepomuk 1775 births 1840 deaths People from Javorník Austrian surgeons Austrian military doctors Charles University alumni Academic staff of Jagiellonian University Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Prussian Army personnel Physicians from the Austrian Empire People from Austrian Silesia Physicians of the Charité Academic staff of Palacký University Olomouc