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
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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