Adolf Ludwig Sigismund Gusserow (Berlin, 8 July 1836 – Berlin, 8 February 1906) was a German

gynecologist Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences) is the area of medicine concerned with conditions affecting the female reproductive system. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, which focuses on pre ...

who was a native of

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. He married Clara Oppenheim (1861–1944), a descendant of Berlin banker

Joseph Mendelssohn Joseph Mendelssohn (11 August 1770 – 24 November 1848) was a German Jews, German Jewish banker. He was the eldest son of the influential philosopher Moses Mendelssohn. In 1795, he founded his own banking house. In 1804, his younger brother, Ab ...

. Gusserow began his career as a lecturer of gynecological diseases and

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 Berlin, and afterwards was a professor at the Universities of

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

and

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

. Later he returned to Berlin as director of the clinic of obstetrics and gynecology at the Berlin-

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 ...

. Two of his better-known students and assistants were Alfred Dührssen (1862-1933) in Berlin, and Paul Zweifel (1848-1927) in Zurich. In 1870 Gusserow was the first physician to describe a rare type of uterine cervical

adenocarcinoma Adenocarcinoma (; plural adenocarcinomas or adenocarcinomata ; AC) is a type of cancerous tumor that can occur in several parts of the body. It is defined as neoplasia of epithelial tissue that has glandular origin, glandular characteristics, or ...

that is sometimes referred to as "

adenoma An adenoma is a benign tumor of epithelium, epithelial tissue with glandular origin, glandular characteristics, or both. Adenomas can grow from many glandular organ (anatomy), organs, including the adrenal glands, pituitary gland, thyroid, prosta ...

malignum" or as a

mucinous Mucus (, ) is a slippery aqueous secretion produced by, and covering, mucous membranes. It is typically produced from cells found in mucous glands, although it may also originate from mixed glands, which contain both serous and mucous cells. It ...

type of "minimal deviation adenocarcinoma" (mucinous MDA). It can be recognized by its "deceptively bland"

histological Histology, also known as microscopic anatomy or microanatomy, is the branch of biology that studies the microscopic anatomy of biological tissue (biology), tissues. Histology is the microscopic counterpart to gross anatomy, which looks at large ...

appearance. Gusserow published his findings in a treatise titled ''Ueber Sarcoma des Uterus''. Among his better written efforts was ''Die Neubildungen des Uterus'' (

Neoplasm A neoplasm () is a type of abnormal and excessive growth of tissue. The process that occurs to form or produce a neoplasm is called neoplasia. The growth of a neoplasm is uncoordinated with that of the normal surrounding tissue, and persists ...

s of the

uterus The uterus (from Latin ''uterus'', : uteri or uteruses) or womb () is the hollow organ, organ in the reproductive system of most female mammals, including humans, that accommodates the embryonic development, embryonic and prenatal development, f ...

Publications

* ''Zur Lehre vom Stoffwechsel des Foetus.'' Engelhardt, Leipzig, 1872 * ''Ueber Menstruation und Dysmenorrhoe.'' Breitkopf and Haertel, Leipzig, 1874 * ''Die Neubildungen des Uterus.'' Enke, Stuttgart, 1886 (Reprint 2007, VDM Verlag Dr. Müller, )
''Geburtshuelfe und Gynaekologie in Großbritannien - Ein Reisebericht.'' Engelhardt, Leipzig 1864
(in Google Books online)

Literature

* Pagel J: ''Biographisches Lexikon hervorragender Ärzte des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts.'' Berlin, Vienna 1901, 660-661 * Nagel W: ''Adolf Gusserow (1836—1906).'' BJOG 9 (2005), 385-6,

References

*
Biography in Catalogue of scientific Collections
of the Humboldt-University of Berlin
Portrait in the Portrait Collection of Berlin Lecturers
of the Humboldt-University of Berlin

Cytologic and Cytochemical features of Adenoma Malignum of the Uterine Cervix
Libri.de
(short biography of Adolf Gusserow) {{DEFAULTSORT:Gusserow, Adolf 1836 births 1906 deaths Academic staff of Utrecht University Academic staff of the University of Strasbourg Academic staff of the University of Zurich German gynaecologists German obstetricians Physicians from Berlin Physicians from the Province of Brandenburg Mendelssohn family