Meinhard von Pfaundler (name sometimes given as Meinhard Pfaundler von Hadermur); (7 June 1872 – 20 June 1947) was an Austrian

pediatrician Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until the ...

born in

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...

. He was the son of

Leopold Pfaundler Leopold Pfaundler von Hadermur (14 February 1839 – 6 May 1920) was an Austrian physicist and chemist born in Innsbruck. He was the father of pediatrician Meinhard von Pfaundler (1872-1947), and the father-in-law of pediatrician Theodor Escheri ...

. In 1890 he began his medical studies in Innsbruck with

anatomist Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having its ...

Wilhelm Roux Wilhelm Roux (9 June 1850 – 15 September 1924) was a German zoologist and pioneer of experimental embryology. Early life Roux was born and educated in Jena, Germany where he attended university and studied under Ernst Haeckel. He also attended u ...

(1850-1924). Shortly afterwards he transferred to the

University of Graz The University of Graz (german: link=no, Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, ), located in Graz, Austria, is the largest and oldest university in Styria, as well as the second-largest and second-oldest university in Austria. History The unive ...

, where he was influenced by

neurologist Neurology (from el, νεῦρον (neûron), "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the brain, the spinal c ...

Gabriel Anton Gabriel Anton (28 July 1858 – 3 January 1933) was an Austrian neurology, neurologist and psychiatry, psychiatrist. He is primarily remembered for his studies of psychiatric conditions arising from damage to the cerebral cortex and the basal gang ...

(1858-1933),

gynecologist Gynaecology or gynecology (see spelling differences) is the area of medicine that involves the treatment of women's diseases, especially those of the reproductive organs. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, forming the combined area ...

Alfons von Rosthorn (1857-1909),

histologist Histology, also known as microscopic anatomy or microanatomy, is the branch of biology which studies the microscopic anatomy of biological tissues. Histology is the microscopic counterpart to gross anatomy, which looks at larger structures vis ...

Alexander Rollett Alexander Rollett (14 July 1834 – 1 October 1903) was an Austrian physiologist and histologist born in Baden bei Wien, Niederösterreich. He studied with Ernst Wilhelm von Brücke (1819–1892) in Vienna, and in 1863 became a professor of phy ...

(1834-1903), internist

Friedrich Kraus Friedrich Kraus (31 May 18581 March 1936) was an Austrian internist. He was born in Bodenbach, Bohemia and died in Berlin. He is remembered for his achievements in the field of electrocardiography and his work in colloid chemistry. Academic c ...

(1858-1936) and pediatrician

Theodor Escherich Theodor Escherich (; 29 November 1857 – 15 February 1911) was a Germans, German-Austrians, Austrian pediatrics, pediatrician and a professor at universities in University of Graz, Graz and University of Vienna, Vienna. He discovered and de ...

(1857-1911), who was also his brother-in-law. After receiving his doctorate he became an assistant to

Franz Hofmeister Franz Hofmeister (30 August 1850, in Prague – 26 July 1922, in Würzburg) was an early protein scientist, and is famous for his studies of salts that influence the solubility and conformational stability of proteins. In 1902, Hofmeister became t ...

(1850-1922 at

Strassburg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eur ...

. He was

habilitated Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including a ...

for pediatrics in 1900 at

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...

, becoming an associate professor and director of its children’s clinic two years later. In 1906 he was appointed director of the university children's hospital in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

. He would remain in

for the remainder of his career. Pfaundler made contributions in all facets of pediatric medicine. He was particularly interested in the diathetic (hereditary and/or biological predisposition to a disorder) aspects of disease. Another focus involved "social pediatrics", stressing the importance of nursing, education,

hygiene Hygiene is a series of practices performed to preserve health. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), "Hygiene refers to conditions and practices that help to maintain health and prevent the spread of diseases." Personal hygiene refer ...

and psychological concerns when dealing with children. In his later research he was concerned with issues such as

genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar wor ...

and

natural selection Natural selection is the differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype. It is a key mechanism of evolution, the change in the heritable traits characteristic of a population over generations. Charle ...

Eponyms

* "Pfaundler's reaction": Mixture of serum consisting of

typhoid Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

agglutinin An agglutinin is a substance in the blood that causes particles to coagulate and aggregate; that is, to change from fluid-like state to a thickened-mass (solid) state. Agglutinins can be antibodies that cause antigens to aggregate by binding t ...

with typhoid

bacteria Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among ...

will cause the bacteria, when incubated, to develop into threads. * " Pfaundler-Hurler syndrome": A metabolical disorder characterized by

dwarfism Dwarfism is a condition wherein an organism is exceptionally small, and mostly occurs in the animal kingdom. In humans, it is sometimes defined as an adult height of less than , regardless of sex; the average adult height among people with dw ...

, a

hunchback Kyphosis is an abnormally excessive convex curvature of the spine as it occurs in the thoracic and sacral regions. Abnormal inward concave ''lordotic'' curving of the cervical and lumbar regions of the spine is called lordosis. It can result fr ...

gargoyle In architecture, and specifically Gothic architecture, a gargoyle () is a carved or formed grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing it from running down masonry walls ...

-like facial expressions, mental retardation, plus other abnormalities. Named with his assistant, pediatrician Gertrud Hurler (1889-1965).

Written works

* ''Handbuch der Kinderheilkunde''. Leipzig, (1906). with Arthur Schlossmann (1867-1932); four volumes, later translated into English as "The Diseases of Children; a work for the practising physician". * ''Über Magencapacität und Gastrektasie''. Stuttgart, 1898. * ''Physiologisches, Bacteriologisches und Klinisches über Lumbalpunctionen an Kindern''. Vienna and Leipzig, (1899). * ''Die K. Univer.-Kinderklinik im Dr. von Haunerschen Kinderspital zu München''. (1911). In reference to

August Hauner August Hauner (29 October 1811 – 11 June 1884) was a German pediatrician and founder of the ''Dr. von Haunerschen Kinderspitals'' (Hauner Children's Hospital) in Munich, which today is part of the University of Munich hospital complex.Dr. v ...

(1811-1884), who founded a private children’s hospital in Munich. * ''Über kombinierte Krankheitsbereitschaften oder Diathesen im Kindesalter'', in: Therapie d. Gegenwart 13, 1911, S. 289-99, 361-72. * ''Physiologie des Neugeborenen''. in Albert Döderlein's "Handbuch für Geburtshilfe". Volume 1. Munich and Wiesbaden, 1915; 2nd edition, 1924.
Bibliography @

Who Named It ''Whonamedit?'' is an online English-language dictionary of medical eponyms and the people associated with their identification. Though it is a dictionary, many eponyms and persons are presented in extensive articles with comprehensive bibliograph ...

References

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie
(translated biography) {{DEFAULTSORT:Pfaundler, Meinhard Austrian pediatricians Academic staff of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich Physicians from Innsbruck 1872 births 1947 deaths