Ernst Von Bergmann
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Ernst Gustav Benjamin von Bergmann (16 December 1836 – 25 March 1907) was a Baltic German
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 ...
. He was the first physician to introduce heat sterilisation of surgical instruments and is known as a pioneer of aseptic surgery.


Early life and education

Born in
Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...
, Livonia Governorate (now
Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...
), in 1860 he earned his doctorate at the University of Dorpat. He then worked as an assistant at the surgical clinic, and trained for surgery under Georg von Adelmann (his future father-in-law), and Georg von Oettingen. He received his certification in 1864.


Career

From 1871 to 1878 he was a professor of surgery at Dorpat. In 1878 he became a professor at
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 ...
; in 1882 he relocated to 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 ...
as a successor to Bernhard von Langenbeck. von Bergmann continued as a professor of surgery at
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 ...
for the remainder of his career. Two of his assistants in Berlin were Curt Schimmelbusch (1860–1895) and Friedrich Gustav von Bramann (1854–1913).Bergmann, Ernst Gustav Benjamin von
@ NDB/ADB Deutsche Biographie


Personal life and death

Bergmann died 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 ...
. His son, Gustav von Bergmann (1878–1955) was a noted doctor of
internal medicine Internal medicine, also known as general medicine in Commonwealth nations, is a medical specialty for medical doctors focused on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases in adults. Its namesake stems from "treatment of diseases of ...
.


Contributions

Bergmann was the first physician to introduce heat sterilization of surgical instruments, thus greatly reducing the number of infections in surgery. He also used steam sterilized dressing material, demonstrating its superiority to chemical antisepsis. He was also an early adopter of the " white coat". He served as a medical officer in the
Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War (German: ''Preußisch-Österreichischer Krieg''), also known by many other names,Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Second War of Unification, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), ''Deutsc ...
(1866), the
Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...
(1870–71), and the
Russo-Turkish War (1877–78) The Russo-Turkish wars ( ), or the Russo-Ottoman wars (), began in 1568 and continued intermittently until 1918. They consisted of twelve conflicts in total, making them one of the longest series of wars in the history of Europe. All but four of ...
, gaining valuable experience in treating wounds. He was deeply interested in the etiology and pathogenesis of diseases associated with battle-related wounds. As a medical officer, he expressed the need for a well-trained ancillary and nursing personnel and also for the implementation of a modified procedure for handling gunshot wounds, in particular, wounds involving the joints and
cranium The skull, or cranium, is typically a bony enclosure around the brain of a vertebrate. In some fish, and amphibians, the skull is of cartilage. The skull is at the head end of the vertebrate. In the human, the skull comprises two prominent ...
. Bergmann pioneered the hydrocelectomy (
hydrocele A hydrocele is an accumulation of serous fluid in a body cavity. A hydrocele testis, the most common form of hydrocele, is the accumulation of fluids around a testicle. It is often caused by fluid collecting within a layer wrapped around the tes ...
operation), contributed to improved
appendectomy An appendectomy (American English) or appendicectomy (British English) is a Surgery, surgical operation in which the vermiform appendix (a portion of the intestine) is removed. Appendectomy is normally performed as an urgent or emergency procedur ...
procedures, and performed the first successful esophageal
diverticulum In medicine or biology, a diverticulum is an outpouching of a hollow (or a fluid-filled) structure in the body. Depending upon which layers of the structure are involved, diverticula are described as being either true or false. In medicine, t ...
operation. Bergmann wrote numerous medical and surgical works, including a classic treatise on head injuries, ''Die Lehre von den Kopfverletzungen'' (1880), and a book on brain surgery, ''Die Chirurgische Behandlung der Hirnkrankheiten'' (1888). In 1904, with Martin Kirchner and Robert Kutner, he co-founded the '' Zeitschrift für ärztliche Fortbildung'' ("Journal of Medical Education"). With Friedrich von Bramann and English physician
Morell Mackenzie Sir Morell Mackenzie (7 July 1837 – 3 February 1892) was a British physician, one of the pioneers of laryngology in the United Kingdom. Biography Morell Mackenzie was born at Leytonstone, Essex, England on 7 July 1837. He was the eldest of ...
(1837–1892), he attended to Frederick III (1831–1888), when the emperor was dying of
laryngeal cancer Laryngeal cancer is a kind of cancer that can develop in any part of the larynx (voice box). It is typically a squamous-cell carcinoma, reflecting its origin from the epithelium of the larynx. The prognosis is affected by the location of the tumo ...
. The Ernst von Bergmann Clinic in
Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...
, the Ernst-von-Bergmann-Kaserne in
Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
, and the Ernst von Bergmann Plaque of the German Medical Association, are named in his honor. File:Ernst von Bergmann bei der Beinamputation.jpg, Bergmann and his assistants in " white coats" (c. 1897) File:Ernst Bergmann1 2010-04-09.JPG, Monument of Bergmann in Tartu (former Dorpat) File:Ernst Bergmann3 2010-04-09.JPG, Monument of Bergmann (plaque)


See also

* List of Baltic German scientists


Footnotes


References

* * * * *


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bergmann, Ernst von 1836 births 1907 deaths Writers from Riga People from Riga county Baltic-German people from the Russian Empire Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Germany Prussian physicians 19th-century German physicians Members of the Prussian House of Lords German surgeons German military doctors University of Tartu alumni Academic staff of the University of Tartu Academic staff of the University of Würzburg Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin Physicians of the Charité Prussian people of the Austro-Prussian War German military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War Military personnel from Riga