Pagenstecher portrait alexander 1828-1879

Friedrich Alexander Hermann Pagenstecher (21 April 1828 – 31 December 1879) was a German

ophthalmologist 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 ...

born in

Wallau The Coat of Arms of Wallau Wallau in Taunus is a quarter of Hofheim in Main-Taunus-Kreis in Hesse, Germany, and has a population of 4,442 (as of 31 December 2019). An archaeological testament to the prehistoric occupation of the area was made w ...

. He studied medicine at the Universities of

Gießen Giessen, spelled in German (), is a town in the German state () of Hesse, capital of both the district of Giessen and the administrative region of Giessen. The population is approximately 90,000, with roughly 37,000 university students. Th ...

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

and

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...

. He obtained his doctorate in 1849, and in 1851 traveled to

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 ...

to study ophthalmology. In 1856 he founded an ophthalmology hospital in

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden (; ) is the capital of the German state of Hesse, and the second-largest Hessian city after Frankfurt am Main. With around 283,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 24th-largest city. Wiesbaden form ...

, and was its director until his death in 1879. At Wiesbaden, he worked closely with his brother,

Hermann Pagenstecher Hermann Pagenstecher (September 16, 1844 – December 31, 1932) was a German ophthalmologist born in Langenschwalbach. In 1867 he obtained his doctorate from the University of Würzburg, and shortly afterwards was an assistant at the interna ...

(1844–1932), who took control of the eye hospital following his death. Pagenstecher made several contributions in

ophthalmology 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 ...

, and was internationally known for his treatment of

glaucoma Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that can lead to damage of the optic nerve. The optic nerve transmits visual information from the eye to the brain. Glaucoma may cause vision loss if left untreated. It has been called the "silent thief of ...

and

cataracts A cataract is a cloudy area in the lens of the eye that leads to a decrease in vision of the eye. Cataracts often develop slowly and can affect one or both eyes. Symptoms may include faded colours, blurry or double vision, halos around ligh ...

. He is remembered for introducing a surgical practice known as

intracapsular cataract extraction Cataract surgery, also called lens replacement surgery, is the removal of the natural lens (anatomy), lens of the human eye, eye that has developed a cataract, an opaque or cloudy area. The eye's natural lens is usually replaced with an artific ...

, and in 1862 he introduced yellow ''Präcipitatsalbe'' (precipitate

salve A salve is a medical ointment used to soothe the skin. Medical uses Magnesium sulphate paste is used as a drawing salve to treat small boils and infected wounds and to remove 'draw' small splinters. Black ointment, or Ichthyol Salve, also ca ...

) as an eye ointment. Pagenstecher died on 31 December 1879, from injuries sustained in a freak hunting accident.

Written works

* ''Klinische Beobachtungen aus der Augenheilanstalt in Wiesbaden'' (with

Edwin Theodor Saemisch Edwin Theodor Saemisch (30 September 1833, Luckau – 29 September 1909, Bonn) was a German ophthalmologist born in Luckau. In 1858 he received his medical doctorate from the University of Berlin, afterwards serving as an assistant to Albrech ...

and

Arnold Pagenstecher Arnold Andreas Friedrich Pagenstecher (25 December 1837, Dillenburg – 11 June 1913, Wiesbaden) was a German doctor and entomologist. He was especially interested in Lepidoptera, especially Papilionidae. He wrote ''Die geographische Verbreitung ...

). 1861/62 * ''Ueber die Extraction des grauen Stares bei uneröffneter Kapsel durch den Skleralschnitt'', Wiesbaden 1866.
Deutsche Biographie, Pagenstecher, Alexander

References

External links

Wikisource Biography
@

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB; ) is one of the most important and comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language. It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences between 1875 and 1912 in 56 volumes, printed in Lei ...

1828 births 1879 deaths People from Main-Taunus-Kreis German ophthalmologists Hunting accident deaths Accidental deaths in Germany {{Germany-med-bio-stub