Ferdinand August Maria Franz von Ritgen (11 October 1787 – 14 April 1867) was a German

obstetrician 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 surgi ...

and naturalist born in the

Westphalia Westphalia (; ; ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the region is almost identical with the h ...

n village of Wulfen (now part of

Dorsten Dorsten (; Westphalian: ''Dössen'') is a town in the district of Recklinghausen in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and has a population of about 75,000. Dorsten is situated on the western rim of Westphalia bordering the Rhineland. Its histori ...

). He is remembered for instruction in the field of

midwifery Midwifery is the health science and health profession that deals with pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period (including care of the newborn), in addition to the sexual and reproductive health of women throughout their lives. In many cou ...

. He studied at

Giessen Giessen, spelled in German (), is a town in the Germany, German States of Germany, state () of Hesse, capital of both the Giessen (district), district of Giessen and the Giessen (region), administrative region of Giessen. The population is appro ...

and later worked as district medical officer at Stadtberge.Plett - Schmidseder
by K. G. Saur Verlag GmbH & Company In 1814 he attained the chair of

surgery Surgery is a medical specialty that uses manual and instrumental techniques to diagnose or treat pathological conditions (e.g., trauma, disease, injury, malignancy), to alter bodily functions (e.g., malabsorption created by bariatric surgery s ...

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 ...

at the

University of Giessen University of Giessen, official name Justus Liebig University Giessen (), is a large public research university in Giessen, Hesse, Germany. It is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in the German-speaking world. It is named afte ...

. Subsequently, he founded a school for midwives. In 1825/26 and 1837/38 he served as university rector.Deutsche Biographie
/ref> Ritgen was editor of the journal ''Gemeinsame deutsche Zeitschrift für Geburtskunde''. His name is associated with the so-called "Ritgen's maneuver" (German: ''Ritgen-Hinterdammgriff''), an obstetrical technique defined as delivery of a child's head by pressure on the

perineum The perineum (: perineums or perinea) in placentalia, placental mammals is the space between the anus and the genitals. The human perineum is between the anus and scrotum in the male or between the anus and vulva in the female. The perineum is ...

while controlling the speed of delivery by pressure with the other hand on the head. Ritgen was also interested in

natural sciences Natural science or empirical science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer ...

, publishing works in the fields of

botany Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

geology Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...

zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...

and even

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

. In 1826 he proposed the dinosaur species name of ''Megalosaurus conybeari'' from fragmentary fossils found in England, however, during the following year,

Gideon Mantell Gideon Algernon Mantell Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons, MRCS Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (3 February 1790 – 10 November 1852) was an English obstetrician, geologist and paleontology, palaeontologist. His attempts to reconstr ...

gave it the binomial of ''

Megalosaurus bucklandii ''Megalosaurus'' (meaning "great lizard", from Ancient Greek, Greek , ', meaning 'big', 'tall' or 'great' and , ', meaning 'lizard') is an extinct genus of large carnivorous theropod dinosaurs of the Middle Jurassic Epoch (Bathonian stage, 166 ...

'' (its present name). In 1828 Ritgen described the North American turtle genus '' Clemmys''. He was the father of architect Hugo von Ritgen (1811-1889).

Written works

* In obstetrics: * ''Handbuch der niedern Geburtshülfe'', 1824 - Manual of the lower midwifery. *
Pathologie und Therapie der Afterbildungen
', (1828) - Pathology and therapy following training. * ''Lehr- und Handbuch der Geburtshülfe für Hebammen'', 1848 - Teaching aid and manual on obstetrics for midwives, 1848. * In natural sciences: * ''Versuch einer natürlichen Eintheilung der Amphibien'' 1826 - Essay on a natural division of amphibians. * ''Versuch einer natürlichen Eintheilung der Vögel'' 1826 - Essay on a natural division of birds.Biodiversity Heritage Library
(publications)

Notes

References

fro
Whonamedit.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ritgen, Ferdinand August Maria Franz von 1787 births 1867 deaths People from Dorsten Prussian physicians 19th-century German physicians German obstetricians Naturalists from the Kingdom of Prussia 19th-century German naturalists German paleontologists 19th-century German zoologists Academic staff of the University of Giessen